Tales from the Vortex
by bubblygal92
Summary: "She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her...I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems." How different would the story of the Oncoming Storm and the Bad Wolf have been if it hadn't started in a shop in London? Series of one shots exploring various AU meetings. MultiDoctor/Rose Tyler
1. Somewhere I Belong

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.**

**A/N Hey guys! Welcome to the first story in the new series 'Tales from the Vortex'. This series is going to be a collection of one-shots, all of them about the Doctor and Rose, in any of his incarnations. They have one thing in common: they are all AU.**

**The first one is called 'Somewhere I Belong' and is a Ten/Rose story. **

**Summary: Rose Tyler is the last remaining pureblood human, being hunted by Lady Cassandra O'Brien and her followers who want to harvest her body. The Tenth Doctor manages to land in Rose's hiding place just as her enemies find her. **

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Somewhere I Belong**

As the sun set on New Earth, Rose Tyler sighed forlornly. She turned on her recording equipment and began to speak.

"Day 174. I am still in hiding. Lady Cassandra has shown no signs of giving up chase. New New York Times is still calling me a fugitive and the search is still on." Rose sighed and looked out of the small window in her hiding place. She could see the hill of applegrass across the bay. "It's been so long since I have been out on a proper walk in the sun. I miss the wind on my face, the scent of applegrass, the sky, the people, I even miss the stupid old hospital in New London where I used to work."

It was time for the evening news, so Rose turned off her recording device. Preparing herself for Sally Calypso's annoying voice, she turned the screen on.

"Salutations! This is Sally Calypso with your daily evening news. The Mayor has announced stricter laws to monitor the registration of the newly developed Primo-human species. We have Sio Morgandy reporting live..."

Rose snorted and went to the tiny kitchen in her flat to fetch some food. Stricter laws indeed. It was just a code for them putting the people in detention centres until they could "process" them. Rose felt her heart go out to those poor people who had just come into this world and would now be subjected to things she would wish on no rodent, let alone another human being.

The food machine beeped and slid open to reveal a small box of nutrition bars. Rose picked up two that declared themselves to be 'just like chicken' and went back to the screen. Sally Calypso was still yammering on and Rose only looked up when her own name was mentioned.

"And the search is still on for Rose Tyler, the Vitex heiress from New London. Miss Tyler is notably known for evading the New Earth Law Enforcement Officials after the death of her parents under suspicious circumstances."

Rose snorted and shut the thing off. Her parents had not died under suspicious circumstances. They had been murdered by Cassandra's people. And Rose was in hiding because she knew what Cassandra would do once she got her hands on Rose.

Rose's mum Jackie, had been a Digi-Human from an asteroid near New Earth and her father Pete, had been a Proto-Human local to New Earth. By some glitch of genetics, Rose had been born with pure human DNA. This fact had been a closely guarded secret since her Dad knew the kind of danger she would be in if people like Cassandra found out about it.

For twenty one years, her secret remained safe. But then Rose and Jackie were in a car accident. It was nothing serious but Rose had a severe gash on her leg which was treated at the very hospital where she had been interning to become an administrator. In order to ensure that there were no further infections in the wound, her blood had been sent for testing before Pete or Jackie could intervene.

After that, it didn't take long for people to realise that she was a pureblood human. Pete and Jackie took her with them and the Tyler family withdrew their public presence. Some said that they left New Earth altogether while others speculated that the government had murdered them.

Then 175 days ago, their safe house in New London had been broken into by armed gunmen. Pete and Jackie had all but pushed Rose into the car and set the destination for New New York. Rose had wanted to stay and defend her parents but they wouldn't hear of it.

Rose had been halfway to New New York when New London news announced that Pete and Jackie Tyler had been found murdered. After that, she had been solely focused on staying alive. She would grieve them later.

Upon her arrival in New New York, she had used the safe house near the Sister of Plenitude's hospital. The flat had been registered to a shell corporation owned by Vitex. It was just a small studio flat overlooking the bay but it had been useful so far.

The important thing had been to stay off Cassandra's radar who was still searching for Rose. Cassandra had been a notable New Earth figure who preached for human purity and spoke against assimilation of new humanoid species in their society.

The xenophobic bitch in question had so many operations done on herself that she now resembled a flat piece of skin with lipstick. She was no more human than a trampoline, in Rose's opinion. But if Cassandra found Rose, she would have no qualms using a psychograft on her.

A psychograft was forbidden technology but money greased a lot of palms and Cassandra had no problem using that to her advantage. Rose did not much like the idea of being compressed to death in her own body while Cassandra paraded it around doing God-knows-what.

Rose glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost 8. It was still early but Rose was tired. She had been up last night studying the UnderCity's maps. She had a plan to put an end to Cassandra's scheming and get her life back, and the UnderCity would be very useful in accomplishing that.

She stood up and stretched, intending to collapse straight onto her bed. But a small noise made her stop. Thinking it was probably someone on the Bay, she ignored it. Sound carried very easily into her flat and after her first week here, she had got used to it. At least, she didn't jump up and arm herself with a frying pan every time she heard a noise anymore.

The noise repeated itself and just as she was eyeing the frying pan, the door to her flat swung open. Rose had no warning as a group of masked gunmen entered her flat, their weapons pointed at her. Rose was too petrified to move but no one fired. Instead, they made way for a flat metal screen that held a stretched piece of skin.

"Cassandra," Rose hissed, her eyes narrowing.

"There you are, Rose Tyler," said Cassandra, smirking at her. "How long it has been."

"What do you want?" Rose asked, even if she knew exactly what she wanted. She had to buy time, think of an escape.

"You are a fugitive, dear Rose," said Cassandra, smiling sadistically. "I am just doing my duty as an upstanding citizen and bringing you into custody."

"Is that what they call murder these days?" Rose demanded harshly.

"Oh, if you want to be that way," shrugged Cassandra. "Boys, take her into custody."

The men started to move towards her and Rose stepped back, wincing quietly when she felt her back hit the far wall. She had no way out. The gunmen were advancing on her but then a low, wheezing noise filled her flat. The men stopped in confusion as a blue box started to materialise in and out of existence between them and Rose.

Rose's eyes went wide as the box solidified and with a final thud, stayed still. The door opened in front of her and a man with hair sticking up everywhere poked his head out. "Oh hello," he said, sounding surprised to see her. "This isn't Hawaii, is it?"

Rose stared at him, stunned and speechless. "W-What?" was all she could manage.

"Get her!' Cassandra shrieked, evidently over her surprise. "Don't let her get away!"

The gunmen fired at the box and the man glanced at Rose who looked terrified. He grabbed her hand. "Run!" he said, pulling her inside the box. The doors closed and Rose leaned against the closed doors, trying to catch her breath and try to understand what had happened.

It took her longer than she would care to admit to realise that the box was much, much bigger than it should have been. Everything had happened so fast but Rose was positive that the box hadn't been this cavernous when it had arrived in her flat.

"Are you alright?" the man asked her kindly, looking at her with wide, curious brown eyes.

Rose managed to nod but then shook her head quickly. "Who-who are you? What is this?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "I'm the Doctor," he said, adding a little wave at the end of his sentence. "This is my ship. It's called the TARDIS."

"Doctor of what?" she asked, still looking very stunned.

"Oh a little bit of this and that," he said casually. He looked carefully at her. "What's your name?"

"Rose," she answered, a bit shakily. "Rose Tyler."

"Well then, Rose Tyler," he beamed. "Why don't you come in and tell me why those people want to kill you?"

Rose was hesitant to trust him but he had just saved her life. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "I'm a pureblood human," she said, moving up the ramp with slow, measured steps. "Cassandra and her people are hunting me. They want to harvest my body."

The Doctor was surprisingly calm at her explanation. "What year is this?" he asked.

"Where have you been? Under a rock?" the insult slipped out and she clapped a hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry," she said, blushing red. "That was awful of me."

He laughed. "It's no matter," he assured her. "I can be much, much ruder than that. Rude and not ginger, that's me. And as to your question, I haven't been living under a rock. But it sounds like an interesting prospect. I ought to try it once. Live under a rock, that is. New experience and all that. Then, I can see if there is any validity to the claim that you become ignorant if you live under a rock. What do you think?" he asked, beaming at her eagerly.

"Uh," said Rose, wondering if his sanity was intact. "It's the year 5 billion 17," she said instead.

"Ah," he said. "It must be early in the year if the humanoid persecution is still rampant."

"No," Rose shook her head. "It's nearly Apple."

"Apple, huh? The last month in your year," he murmured under his breath. "Rose Tyler...Rose Tyler, your name is very familiar. You're not famous, are you?" he asked her questioningly.

Rose snorted without humour. "I'm a fugitive according to them," she said, sounding close to tears.

He looked kindly at her. "I doubt that," he said. "You must be famous for something else."

Rose shrugged and glanced back at the doors of the Doctor's spacesh...TARDIS. "Won't they get in?" she asked.

"No," said the Doctor shortly. "But we should move away just in case," he said, running around the central console, pressing buttons and twirling levers at such an alarming rate that Rose could only stare. The central column began to move up and down with the same wheezing noise from before and the Doctor grinned in delight at the shock and awe on her face. "Now then," he said, as the TARDIS landed with a thud. "Come on."

"Where?" Rose asked, feeling excited despite herself.

The Doctor only smiled at her and picked up a long brown coat from one of the coral struts. "Outside," he said. "Let's go."

Rose stared at him incredulously for a moment before running out after him. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw that they were on the small hill that overlooked her flat. She could smell the applegrass at her feet and feel the cool night wind on her face.

She grinned in delight at the Doctor. "This is...amazing," she said, her voice full of awe.

He grinned back at her and pulled her along with him. Rose laughed in delight as she ran with the Doctor, not caring in the least where he was taking her. He brought them to a halt a little ways away from the TARDIS, where they had a clear view of the brightly-lit city of New New York across the Bay.

Rose was gaping she knew, but couldn't bring herself to care. The Doctor smiled at her and laid out his coat on the applegrass. "Here, sit," he said.

She broke her gaze away from the view and sat down next to him on his coat. "I've always wanted to come here," she said quietly. "I never thought I'd get a chance..." she trailed off, her voice catching.

The Doctor bumped his shoulder against hers. "Don't worry, Rose Tyler," he said. "Once we get this mess with Cassandra sorted out, you can build yourself a house here if you want."

Rose laughed and squeezed his hand gratefully. "Thanks, Doctor," she said.

He smiled at her. "So, start from the beginning."

Rose nodded and launched into her story. The Doctor listened patiently and it was hard to see in the dark, but Rose thought she saw concern in his eyes as she told him about herself. Once she was done, the Doctor was quiet for a long moment. "Do you have a way of stopping her?" he asked.

Rose looked surprised that he would ask her but she nodded quickly. "I had been working with a few things," she said. "But I hit the jackpot when I found the UnderCity base."

"UnderCity base?" asked the Doctor, his ears pricking up in interest.

Rose nodded. "The first colonists who came to New Earth lived in the UnderCity until they could build the proper City. It is all sealed off now. At least, that's what I thought."

"It's not sealed?" he asked her.

"I managed to break into the Mayor's databanks," she confessed quietly. "I had a mate who taught me. Anyway," she cleared her throat. "I read some of the files which showed the usual. Cassandra has paid off a lot of the officials. But even she can't risk some of the information being seen by the civilians."

"Like what?" the Doctor asked with interest.

"All these 'processing centres'," Rose said the words like they were poison. "They record all their sick and twisted experiments."

The Doctor sat up. "Do you know where all those recordings are?" he asked.

Rose nodded. "Cassandra has a bunch of seedy businesses down in the UnderCity," she said. "One of them is an archive of all the experiments. If those get released to the public, not even Cassandra can escape justice."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Very well thought out, Rose Tyler," he praised. "I must confess that when you said you wanted to get rid of Cassandra, you meant more drastic measures."

"What? Like kill her?" Rose asked in surprise. "Nah, I could never kill her. Not even in a fit of revenge. I would rather see her ruined and imprisoned."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her hard tone but didn't say anything. "Do you know where the archive is?" he asked instead.

She nodded. "I was studying the maps all night..." she trailed off, her eyes wide with horror. "The maps! I left them in the flat! I have clearly marked everything on it. Cassandra's going to know that I'm looking for the footage. She will shut them down..."

"Rose, Rose, Rose, calm down," said the Doctor, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Know the TARDIS? It is an acronym. T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Rose's eyes went wide. "Does that mean...?"

"It also travels in time," he beamed. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Rose Tyler, allons-y!"

* * *

The UnderCity is disgusting, was Rose's first thought. The roads and alleys were dark and damp and smelled of waste and sewage. The Doctor had landed them earlier that day but despite it being afternoon, the UnderCity was grey and dreary like twilight in the main City.

There were no people around in the UnderCity, not even animals. Rose suppressed a shiver at the deathly silence in the place and moved closer to the Doctor involuntarily. He seemed to be scanning the area with something that he called a sonic screwdriver. Rose had no idea how a screwdriver could scan anything but she knew that if anyone could do it, it would be the Doctor.

"Aha! Found it," he said, happily. "It's that way!"

Rose followed him as he ran down the alley, holding his beeping sonic screwdriver in front of him. They had been running for about five minutes, when the Doctor grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alcove in one of the abandoned buildings.

Rose squeaked in surprise, but the Doctor covered her mouth gently with his hand and urged her to look behind them. Rose moved carefully and saw a group of shabbily-dressed men walking through the alley, swaying as if they were intoxicated.

She stayed utterly still and the Doctor took his hand off her mouth. "Breathe quieter," he whispered in her ear.

Rose tried to calm her breathing as the men passed by their hiding place. A stench of strong alcohol and some unidentifiable drug hit their nostrils and they both wrinkled their noses. The men were apparently singing some lewd song at the top of their voices and didn't notice the Doctor and Rose's hiding place.

They moved further along and the Doctor and Rose waited until their voices were faint and far away before leaving their hiding place. "Come on," said the Doctor. "Not far now." They were walking for ten more minutes before they came across a red brick building that looked cleaner than most. The sign in the front door read 'Delta 17 prop. Bad Wolf.'

"This is it," Rose said. "Isn't it?"

"Yes," said the Doctor quietly. He tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. Exchanging a look with Rose, he opened the door. It opened to a dark, dusty hallway that was lit by a single light bulb that was on its last flicker.

The floorboards under their feet creaked lightly as they entered the hallway. There was a wooden stairwell that went upstairs and several doors downstairs. "Split up?" asked Rose. "You take upstairs, I'll look here."

The Doctor nodded. "Be careful," he said.

Rose smiled at him and went towards the first door on the ground floor. It was a broom closet filled with cleaning supplies. She heard the Doctor go upstairs as she tried the second door. It was a tiny room, not much bigger than the broom cupboard. But it was completely empty.

Just as she was about to open the third door, she heard a loud thud from upstairs. Startled she contemplated calling for the Doctor. But she didn't want to draw attention to herself. There was a louder thud this time and she heard the Doctor's yell of pain.

Abandoning her search, Rose picked up a sturdy looking broom from the cupboard and tiptoed upstairs. Only one of the doors was open and Rose moved cautiously towards it. She could hear the Doctor as she approached it.

"...should really put that gun down. You might hurt someone."

"Shut up!" It was a man's voice. "Ain't nobody supposed to be down 'ere."

"Ah well, you see my friend and I were looking for something," said the Doctor.

"Not my business, mate," said the man and Rose was horrified to hear a gun cocking. "The boss told me to shoot strangers on sight."

Rose ran into the room and struck the man on the head with the heavy handle of the broom. He fell to the floor, dropping his gun. The Doctor raised his eyes from the suddenly unconscious man, back to Rose who was breathing heavily and still holding up the broom like a sword.

"Rose," he said. "It's alright."

Rose exhaled roughly and lowered the broom. "Are you okay?" she asked, surprised at how hoarse she sounded.

The Doctor walked up to her and gently pried the broom away from her hands. "I'm alright. Your timing was brilliant." He threw the broom to the side and bent down to check on the man.

"Is he dead?" Rose asked, scared.

"No, just knocked out," said the Doctor. "Come on, I found the data crystals with the footage."

"You did?" Rose asked. "Where?"

"Through here," he said, leading her through a smaller door into a closet with shelves full of data crystals. Each of them had been clearly labelled with the name of the prisoner, the time that they were experimented upon and (this made Rose sick to her stomach) how many times the data crystal had been viewed.

"Let's gather them," said Rose quietly, pushing past her revulsion. "We have to go back to the City. I know a journalist back in New London who will make sure that the truth gets out."

The Doctor put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you are okay?" he asked.

"M'fine," she said. "Let's finish this."

* * *

Rose had not been lying when she had said that the journalist would get the truth out. Sarah Jane Smith was a force to be reckoned with when she received all the data crystals from Rose. Critical articles, vehement campaigns against corruption and xenophobia were just the beginning.

Rose Tyler's name was cleared and once Sarah Jane had named her as the person who had brought the truth to light, she was hailed as a heroine in the new world. People were scrambling to interview her and get her opinions on the new society.

Rose handled everything with a grace that surprised even her. She tried to tell them that she had help but the Doctor's absence made it harder to convince them. She hadn't seen him ever since he had dropped her off in New London at Sarah Jane's door with the data crystals. She found herself missing him. She hadn't even got a chance to thank him properly.

A fortnight after the news first broke, Rose smiled as Sally Calypso announced that Lady Cassandra was found guilty and would be sentenced to life in prison. Switching off the screen, she looked around her tiny flat with a sigh. She thought she'd be happy to build a new life after everything was over but she just felt empty. After giving her parents a proper funeral, she had found herself out of things to do.

She didn't want to go back to the hospital to finish becoming an administrator and she didn't want to be hailed as some sort of a messiah of the new society. She sighed and decided to go to bed when the familiar wheezing noise filled the air.

Her eyes widened in delight as the TARDIS materialised into her flat. Before the door could open, she was knocking insistently to get the Doctor to let her in.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," she heard him laughing. "Hello!" he beamed, once he'd had the doors open.

Rose threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she laughed.

He laughed loudly as he lifted her off her feet and swung them both around. "You did it, Rose Tyler," he grinned, once he had set her down. "They are calling you their messiah."

She shook her head as she ducked in embarrassment. "I don't want to be a messiah," she said. "I'm happy to be just me."

"I said your name was familiar, didn't I?" he asked with a slightly superior smile. "Time travel, the facts get muddled up sometime."

"I looked for you," she blurted out. "You just left."

"Ah yes," he said, pulling on his ear and looking slightly embarrassed. "I don't like to stick around for cleanups. I find it easier to keep moving."

Rose nodded. "So, why did you come back?" she asked curiously.

He met her gaze shyly. "I was wondering if you'd fancy a trip," he said. "Anywhere and anywhen you want. You have more than earned a rest."

Rose's eyes went wide. "Seriously?" she asked.

"Seriously," he nodded. "So, what do you think?"

Rose bit her lip and smiled widely at him. "I'd love to," she said.

"Brilliant! Molto bene!" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her inside the TARDIS. "Allons-y, Rose Tyler!"

* * *

**A/N So, what did you think?**

**I am marking this story as 'Complete' but I will still be putting new one-shots here. The point of this whole series is to write as many different incarnations of the Doctor meeting Rose in as many different ways I can think of. Plus, any that you guys want to see. **

**There are only two conditions: the Doctor has to be a Time Lord with a TARDIS and second of all, Rose Tyler can be human, immortal, eternal whatever you want. Give me your suggestions if there is a particular Doctor or situation you want to see. **

**The next one is going to be the Fourth Doctor and Victorian Governess!Rose Tyler. I'll put it up soon. Let me know how this one was.**

**~ Phoenix**


	2. Silent Night

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.**

**A/N Thanks for the amazing response to the first story in the series. I am really, really grateful by your feedback and your amazing suggestions.**

**As promised, this one is a Fourth Doctor and Victorian Governess!Rose Tyler. With a guest appearance from K-9 Mark II and Professor George Litefoot.**

**Summary: The Doctor follows a curious signal to Earth and reunites with his old friend, Professor George Litefoot. Rose Tyler is a governess in London 1892, who gets caught up in a thrilling adventure very close to home.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Silent Night**

The Doctor finished assembling K-9 Mark II and grinned widely. "Begin testing phase alpha," he said.

"All systems ready to go," K-9 piped up. "Awaiting orders, mistress."

The Doctor's triumphant grin slid off his face. "Needs a bit more work," he muttered to himself. "Mistress indeed," he added with a scoff and a quiet glare at the dog.

"Detecting interference," said K-9.

"Well considering that you just called me 'mistress', I doubt the interference is real, K-9," said the Doctor, patting the dog with an air of condescension.

"Correction, master. The interference is undoubtedly real," said K-9.

"Well you got my name right, that is something," grinned the Doctor as he stood up and went over to the console. He did a quick scan for the interference that only K-9 could detect. Funnily enough, the TARDIS seemed to agree with K-9. There was some sort of electronic interference coming from...London in 1892.

"Unusual, don't you think K-9?" asked the Doctor, frowning slightly. "That is far, far advanced than 19th century technology."

"Affirmative, master," agreed K-9.

"Very well," nodded the Doctor as he set the course for the destination and then wandered into the TARDIS wardrobe to find the Victorian clothes he had worn back in Weng-Chiang's London. He felt a brief sense of nostalgia as he thought of Leela, who had just recently stayed behind on Gallifrey.

By the time he had emerged back in the console room, the flight was almost over. He quickly started the landing sequence, chattering with K-9 about Victorian London. That is, until K-9 interrupted saying that his databanks were fully updated on Victorian London.

"Well that's gratitude for you," murmured the Doctor sulkily as the TARDIS landed. "Stay here, I won't be long."

"Suggestion, master! Take me with you," said K-9.

"Sorry, K-9," said the Doctor. "Snowy London roads might be too much for your systems." He sounded as if he was trying very hard not to laugh.

K-9's ears drooped and his head fell sulkily. The Doctor watched with raised eyebrows and walked outside. As if it wasn't bad enough that he had only a dog to keep him company, the dog was developing an attitude on top of it. The first K-9 hadn't been so temperamental, had he?

The Doctor shook his head and observed his surroundings. It was quite late in the evening and snow was falling softly on the cobbled streets of London. The Doctor tapped his cane on the ground twice and then held it up in front of him. He was positive that the signal was coming from his right but it was very faint, as if it was at a distance.

Before he could debate what to do, he saw a gentleman emerge from the gentleman's club across the street where a cab was waiting for him. It wouldn't have been significant except the Doctor recognised the stout gentleman shivering lightly as he walked up to his cab. Besides, the valet who opened his cab door greeted him with a familiar name. "Good night then, Professor Litefoot."

The Doctor hurried over to the cab and smiled widely when Professor Litefoot's mouth fell open upon seeing him. "Good lord, Doctor," said Professor Litefoot. He extended his hand hastily. "How are you, my dear fellow?"

"Splendid indeed," said the Doctor warmly, shaking his hand. "I trust you are well."

"Yes, quite," said the Professor, still sounding a bit shocked at the Doctor's arrival. "Come in, come in, Doctor," he said, once he realised that the Doctor was still standing on the street.

"Oh thank you," grinned the Doctor as he climbed into the cab.

"Isn't Miss Leela with you?" the Professor asked curiously as the valet closed the cab door after the Doctor.

"She recently found herself engaged to another gentleman," answered the Doctor.

"Unusual woman," said Professor Litefoot wistfully. "Feisty. Braver than any woman I ever met."

The Doctor chuckled. "I would have to agree with that," he acquiesced.

"Back to Sir Edward's estate, Professor Litefoot?" asked the cab driver.

"Yes, indeed," the Professor agreed and the cab set off. He caught the Doctor's curious gaze. "I'm afraid a tree crashed through the roof of my house three nights ago. Thankfully, Mrs. Hudson was visiting her sister in Wessex and I was out on a call. I have been staying with a dear friend of mine, Sir Edward Willoughby."

"Ah," nodded the Doctor. "You see, Professor, I am afraid I cannot oblige. I was rather engaged in tracking down an anomalous electronic signal."

"Is it Greel again?" asked the Professor warily.

"Oh no, I don't believe so," said the Doctor reassuringly. "But I must investigate, you understand."

"Very well, Doctor," agreed the Professor. "But do indulge an old man and accept a bed for the night. You can begin your search in the morning."

The Doctor was touched by the gesture. "Are you certain Sir Edward will not mind an uninvited guest?" he asked.

"Oh yes, quite certain," agreed the Professor. "Sir Edward is an inventor, you see. Quite an extraordinary mind."

"An inventor?" asked the Doctor with interest.

The Professor nodded heartily. "He might be able to assist you in your search for the anomalous signal. As I understand it, electricity is his expertise."

"Indeed?" asked the Doctor with mild interest. If Sir Edward was meddling with something beyond the scope of the scientific capabilities of this era, it might explain the anomaly. Perhaps he would take the Professor up on his offer and stay at Sir Edward's house. It couldn't hurt to investigate.

The cab pulled into the driveway of a Victorian mansion, quite a distance from London. It was dark along the way and there were almost no lights coming from the house.

"Oh dear me," said the Professor. "We must be quite late."

They left the cab quickly and hurried over to the door. Professor Litefoot rang the bell as they waited for someone to open. There were quick, hurried footsteps on the other side as the door was slowly opened. Instead of a butler, that the Doctor had been expecting, it was a young blonde woman, dressed quite modestly in a dark green dress with full skirts.

"Professor," she said, smiling in welcome.

"My dear Miss Tyler," said the Professor, his eyes beaming. "I do apologise for the lateness of the hour."

"Oh no, it is quite alright," said Rose as she let them in. Her eyes fell on the Doctor and the Professor cleared his throat.

"This is an old friend of mine, Doctor John Smith," he introduced. "This is Miss Rose Tyler. She is the governess to Sir Edward's daughters."

"How do you do, Miss Tyler?" said the Doctor with a wide grin.

"It is nice to meet you, Doctor Smith," she said with a bright smile. She turned to the Professor. "I'm afraid Sir Edward has retired for the night. But the cook did leave some supper for you, sir."

"Even the staff has retired?" asked the Professor as Rose helped them both out of their cloaks.

"Yes Professor," nodded Rose. "I was awake because I was preparing the girls' lessons for tomorrow. Shall I set the table for you both, sir?"

"Yes, if you would be so kind," said the Professor before the Doctor could protest. "I would also like to trouble you a bit further, Miss Tyler."

"Yes?" asked Rose as she lit the lamps in the dining room and started to set the table.

"Doctor Smith requires a bed for the night," said the Professor.

"If it is not too much trouble," said the Doctor, at once. The girl was being kind but she was not a servant.

"It is no trouble at all, sir," said Rose with a smile. "I shall make arrangements while you gentlemen enjoy your supper, shall I?"

"I am very grateful, Miss Tyler," said the Doctor with smile. Rose returned his smile and with a quick curtsy, left them to their meal.

"Charming young woman," remarked the Professor. "I was delighted by her company."

"You said she was the governess?" asked the Doctor curiously.

"Oh yes, quite an intelligent one too," said the Professor. "As I understand, her father was an old friend of Sir Edward's father. She was only 16 when her father was taken by illness and the same illness took her mother a year later. Sir Edward took her in and employed her as a governess to Caroline and Mary. Sir Edward had just lost his wife at the time."

The Doctor nodded along as he ate the small but filling supper. He decided that he might as well accept the Professor's offer and wait until morning. Perhaps it was only one of Sir Edward's experiments that was the anomaly...

* * *

Rose fetched some fresh linen and put it in the guest suite. It was a wide and spacious set of rooms and she was positive that the Doctor would have no problems with it.

She frowned as she thought of the gentleman that she had just met. He was unlike anything she had ever seen. Not in his appearance-no, he was dressed as a proper gentleman should be-but something about his face was very old.

Shaking her head, she went over to the windows and gazed outside. The moon was full tonight and Rose was getting restless. It had been nearly a week since Sir Edward had offered her a proposal.

"_You are already like a mother to Caroline and Mary. Our fathers were old friends. It would make sense."_

It did make sense. Rose could almost hear her mother shrieking at her to accept Sir Edward's proposal. She would be a proper lady and everything, and she adored Caroline and Mary. But did she really want to settle for something simply because it made sense?

She knew what she really wanted. What she had always wanted. Of course, that was completely foolish. "Setting your eyes to the stars, Rose," she murmured to herself.

"There's nothing wrong with the stars," she heard a deep voice behind her and Rose jumped.

"Doctor Smith," she squeaked in surprise. "I am sorry I didn't hear you come in, sir."

"Oh no, I should be the one apologising," he said cheerfully. "After all, I interrupted your introspection."

Rose flushed and ducked her head. She hadn't meant to sound...well, like she was complaining. "It wasn't introspection, Doctor Smith," she said, regaining her composure. She cleared her throat. "I brought some fresh linen and the fire should be warm enough now."

"Thank you, Miss Tyler," said the Doctor with his wide grin that made her smile involuntarily.

She curtsied quickly and turned to leave. As she neared the door, she heard him call to her. "Yes, Doctor Smith?" she asked politely.

"Just the Doctor, please," he said. "If you don't mind, Miss Tyler, I was actually hoping to ask you about Sir Edward's work."

Rose looked surprised but nodded with a quick smile. "It is fascinating, is it not?" she said. "He is certain that he shall be able to build a device that can transmit our voices across distances without wires."

"Indeed?" asked the Doctor, interested. "How does he propose to do that?"

"It's far too advanced for me to understand, sir," said Rose with a wry smile. "But he did mention something called satellite communication."

"Satellite communication? Are you sure?" the Doctor asked, his eyebrows flying into his curly hair.

Rose frowned at his surprise but nodded. "I assumed he meant the moon," she said. "He monitors the moon cycle without fail. Which is curious," she trailed off.

"Curious?" asked the Doctor with interest.

"Full moon," said Rose. "He usually spends his nights working in his laboratory but on full moons he retires early. Something disrupts his experiments, he says, which makes his results unclear. The entire household is quiet as a dormouse once he has retired."

"Curious, indeed," agreed the Doctor. "I would have thought that a full moon would make his results more accurate."

"I suppose not," said Rose, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself as much as the Doctor.

The Doctor watched her kindly and smiled. "You don't really believe that, do you Rose?" he asked. "May I call you Rose?"

Rose nodded. "Sir Edward, sometimes he says things that I do not underst..." she shook her head, flushing red when she realised that she was blurting out her employer's secrets to a man she had met not an hour ago. "I am sorry, Doctor. Ignore me. My mum always said I read too much into things. I should let you rest. It's quite late," she rambled on, looking ready to bolt.

"Miss Tyler. Rose," the Doctor interrupted and Rose fell silent, looking at him through wide eyes. "Did you hear that?"

Rose's brow wrinkled but then she heard it too. It was a low howl that echoed through the moonlit night. "What is that?" Rose asked in a low whisper.

The Doctor rushed over to the window and peered out. Rose hesitated only briefly before joining him. The grounds around the mansion were bathed in moonlight but there was no around. "Sir Edward does not own any dogs, I presume," said the Doctor.

"No," answered Rose, still looking at the grounds.

"Yes, I was afraid you would say that," said the Doctor. The howl rang through the air again, louder this time and the two of them jumped.

"It came from beyond the garden," said Rose quickly. "Near the Brackenworth copse."

"Right," said the Doctor as he picked up his cane and ran quickly from the room.

Bewildered, Rose followed him quickly. "Doctor, where are you going?" she asked in a low whisper as he ran down the wide stairwell.

"To investigate, of course," said the Doctor. "Come along if you want to."

Rose came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs and watched as the Doctor opened the back door and let himself out into the garden. Right before he left, he grinned at her over his shoulder. Rose realised that she had just been offered a choice. Stay in the safety of the house or join the Doctor in the unknown.

With a determined look upon her face, Rose gathered up her voluminous skirts with one hand and ran after him.

Snow was blanketing most of the garden and Rose shivered lightly. She ought to have grabbed a cloak before leaving the house. There was no sign of the Doctor but Rose could see his footprints leading through the ground and towards the copse beyond the gate. She followed them with quick steps and was soon past the gate. It was quieter now and she could barely see through the night. The moon slid behind some clouds and darkness descended upon them. "Doctor," she whispered, trying to look for him in the dark.

There was no reply, so she extended a hand in front of her and started to take tentative steps forward. "Doctor?" she called again. Her hand met something quite furry and she frowned. Had the Doctor put on a different cloak with fur lining? She moved her fingers but she only felt more fur under her hand. It took her only a moment to realise that it was not the Doctor.

"Rose! Rose!"

Rose screamed loudly as she heard the Doctor call from behind her.

The furry thing in front of her growled loudly and the moon slipped away from the clouds, bathing them in moonlight. Rose couldn't contain her scream as she saw an enormous wolf with shaggy dark fur standing on two legs before her. Rose tore her hand away from the towering beast and ran. She could not tell if the thing was pursuing her, she was only focused on getting away. She didn't even know if she was going the right way when she lost her footing and slid to the ground. She heard a loud howl echo behind her as everything went dark.

* * *

The Doctor had heard Rose scream right after he had called out for her. It was getting steadily darker and the moon was peeking in and out at inopportune moments, making visibility that much harder. He followed the direction of her voice as best as he could in the growing darkness. Thankfully, his vision was more advanced than that of a regular human's.

Just as he started to wonder whether he was losing direction, he heard Rose scream again. He quickened his footsteps in the direction that he was heading in but came to a halt when he heard a long howl, followed by a rustling through the trees.

The Doctor stood stock still as a furry beast emerged from the darkness, carrying an unconscious Rose in his arms. The Doctor turned his blazing eyes on the beast. "Stop!" he commanded in a quiet yet menacing voice. "Put the girl down. Gently." The beast roared angrily at him but at the Doctor's steady, furious gaze, it lowered Rose down to the ground. "Now," said the Doctor in a calmer voice. "What are you?"

The beast threw its head back and howled loudly at the moon. "You are not of this world, so where do you come from?" the Doctor tried again, looking at the half-man, half-wolf. "Can you not respond?" he realised. The wolf looked at him with intelligent eyes and bowed its head. "Do you need help?" asked the Doctor as he moved forward cautiously.

The wolf looked a bit wary as the Doctor came closer. The Doctor looked encouragingly at him and the wolf nodded slowly. "Okay, is there a way for us to communicate properly?" he asked.

Before the wolf could answer, a loud shot rang through the air, missing the wolf by inches. The Doctor turned around and saw Professor Litefoot wielding his trusty rifle to shoot at the wolf. "Get out of the way, Doctor!" he yelled.

"No! Stop!" yelled the Doctor as the wolf growled angrily.

Professor Litefoot appeared to not have heard him and was loading the rifle again. With a last angry look at the Doctor, the wolf howled and turned around and vanished into the darkness.

"No, wait," said the Doctor. "Come back!" But the animal was gone.

The Doctor hurried over to Rose's unconscious form and lifted her up in his arms. His face set in a frustrated glare, he started to carry her back. Professor Litefoot looked relieved upon seeing them but his gaze turned concerned when he saw Rose unconscious.

"This way, Doctor. Bring her in," he said, at once. The Doctor followed Professor Litefoot up to Rose's rooms and laid her down on her bed. Professor Litefoot was immediately checking her pulse. "Get the fire going. Poor thing is nearly frozen," he said.

The Doctor obeyed and quickly started up the fire in Rose's room. "Is she alright?" he asked, his annoyance at the Professor temporarily forgotten.

"Yes," answered the Professor. "She doesn't appear to be injured." Turning away from his patient, Professor Litefoot looked at the Doctor. "What _was_ that thing in the copse?" he demanded.

"I don't know," answered the Doctor. "Your gunfire scared it before it could answer."

"You mean...it was friendly?" asked the Professor in astonishment.

"It appeared so, yes," said the Doctor, looking slightly admonishing.

The Professor had the grace to flush. "I apologise, old chap," he said. "When I saw the beast towering over you, I assumed..."

"It's quite alright," said the Doctor with a smile. He knew Professor Litefoot was a kind man at heart. He was doing what he did best; protecting and caring for the people around him. The truest doctor that the Doctor had ever met. "I think it's time we woke up our host, don't you think? He appears to have a lupine problem."

"Right, of course," said the Professor at once, rising from the chair at Rose's bedside. "I shall wake Sir Edward. He'll have to be informed about Miss Tyler too."

"I'll stay with Rose while you fetch him," said the Doctor. "I don't think he will quite appreciate a stranger bursting into his rooms at midnight."

"No, no, quite right," said the Professor, as he ambled out of Rose's room. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Rose regained consciousness and realised quickly that she was back in her own bed. What a terrible nightmare that had been. Meeting a strange man called the Doctor, howling through the night and then a werewolf in the copse...

She turned in her bed and gasped when she saw the Doctor sitting calmly by the fire. She sat up quickly, her head protesting at the moment.

"Careful there," said the Doctor as she clutched her head in pain. "Are you feeling alright?"

"That was real, wasn't it?" Rose asked, her eyes wide as she looked at the Doctor. "There really was a werewolf back there."

"Werewolf? Interesting thing to call it," said the Doctor with some amusement. "Yes, I'm afraid it was. But I think our friend Professor Litefoot frightened it off."

"Good," she nodded decisively. "What if it wandered onto the grounds? I take the girls for a walk there sometimes. Thank goodness they weren't there with me."

"I don't think it is quite as simple," said the Doctor. "Before Professor Litefoot frightened it off, it asked for my help."

"It spoke?" asked Rose in astonishment.

"Gestures, mostly," said the Doctor. "But I rather think it meant you no harm. It brought you out of the copse."

Rose stared at him in disbelief. "It...didn't harm me?" she asked. "Then the poor thing must really need help. How do we help?"

"I intend to find out," said the Doctor.

"I should check up on the girls," said Rose, getting to her feet. "Where is the Professor?"

"He went to wake up Sir Edward," said the Doctor. "Come to think of it, that was a while ago," he added with a frown.

"Sir Edward's chambers are on the other side of the mansion. It will take him a while to be back," she explained. "I'll just...check on the girls."

The Doctor nodded at her to go ahead and Rose hurried over to the girls' room, trying not to shiver because of her damp dress. Fainting in the snow had not been a smart thing to do, she realised with an embarrassed flush. She reached the girls' door and opened it just a crack. The room was plunged into darkness, so she walked inside slowly.

"Caroline? Mary?" she whispered. She got no reply. She was about to call again when she realised how silent it was in the room. She couldn't even hear the girls breathing. Rose quickly lit the small electric lamp on Caroline's side table that Sir Edward had invented himself.

Light flooded the room and Rose gasped when she realised that the beds were empty. Frightened, she ran back out to her own rooms. "Doctor! Doctor!" she called but was surprised to find him gone too.

"Miss Tyler!"

Rose turned around and sighed in relief when she saw the Professor. "Thank goodness I found you, Miss Tyler," said the Professor, bustling over to her.

"Did you wake up Sir Edward?" she asked.

"I tried to but the man wasn't in his bed," said the Professor.

"Neither were Caroline and Mary," said Rose, sounding scared. "And now the Doctor is gone too. Maybe I should wake up the rest of the staff."

"I tried ringing for Blackwell but he did not answer," said the Professor about the butler. "I think they too, are gone."

"But gone where?" asked Rose, distressed. "And where is the Doctor?"

A loud howl rang through the air and the Professor and Rose glanced at each other. To their enormous surprise, several howls followed the loud howl. "What the devil is going on?" asked the Professor.

"There you two are," they heard from behind them and jumped.

"Doctor! Where have you been?" Rose asked, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Oh, I was just looking for some string," he said, holding up an odd device that looked like several cobbled bits of wires and machinery held together. "I have been raiding Sir Edward's laboratory. Fascinating experiments."

"Doctor, I am afraid Sir Edward is gone," said the Professor gravely. "So have his daughters and the rest of his staff."

"Yes, I thought that might be the case," said the Doctor as if the Professor had mentioned the weather. "But they are not as gone as you think."

"Then where are they?" Rose asked and jumped when a loud howl echoed through the air again.

"I think that answers your question, doesn't it?" said the Doctor with a wide, manic grin. "Come along now, let's go speak to Sir Edward and his household." He finished tying up the string around the mechanical device in his hands and began to make his way back downstairs.

Rose and the Professor exchanged a quick look before running after him. By the time they got downstairs, they found that the Doctor was already out into the garden. In front of him, were seven werewolves. The one that Rose had seen before, was the largest one and he was standing slightly ahead of the rest.

"What the blazes is going on?" murmured the Professor as he and Rose joined the Doctor.

"Ah, Rose, Professor, meet Sir Edward and his household. Those two," he pointed to the younger wolves. "Those must be Caroline and Mary. And if I'm guessing right, the rest of them must be the butler, scullery maid, the cook and the chauffeur. Am I wrong?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Doctor," said the Professor. "They cannot possibly be."

"Oh but they are," said the Doctor. "Just this one thing," he said, fiddling with the contraption in his hand and there was a distortion in the air around the wolves before they transformed back into their human selves. "A perception filter affected by the gravitational pull of the satellite."

"What?" Rose asked, still looking very pale at the idea that the household where she had stayed for so many years was actually a house of wolves.

"He means that the moon affects how we look," Sir Edward answered, looking at Rose apologetically. "We are not of this world, my dear Rose."

"But that cannot be true," said Rose, shaking her head. "I have known you all my life. Our fathers were friends."

"Our ancestors crashed to Earth generations ago. With no way back, they assimilated themselves into the society," said Sir Edward regretfully. "We are just the newest generation. We used the perception filter that your friend just pointed out, to keep our true selves hidden. But on full moon, the filter is more difficult to hide."

"You mean, all this time?" asked Rose, tearfully. "And the girls..." she said, looking at the girls who both had tears in their eyes.

"We are sorry, Miss Rose," Caroline, the oldest said. "Daddy told us that we couldn't tell you the truth."

"We wanted to," said Mary.

"They care for you," said Sir Edward. "That is why I asked you to marry me."

Rose ignored the look that the Doctor and the Professor sent her. "But how could...I mean, you..." she wondered how she could phrase it delicately.

"If you had accepted, I would have told you the truth," said Sir Edward hastily. "There are ways to...become like us."

"That may be," interrupted the Doctor. "But I found this in your laboratory," he said, pulling out a small black box with a myriad of wires tangled around it.

"What is that?" asked the Professor. The Doctor had to admire his fortitude. Poor man had had a lot sprung onto him in a very short amount of time.

"That is what you would call a radio," said the Doctor. "Well," he amended. "At least you would call it that once it has been invented."

"What does it do?" Rose asked curiously.

"Remember when you told me he was making a device to transmit our voices without wires?" asked the Doctor with a grin. "This is what he'd meant."

"I am almost successful, Doctor," said Sir Edward. "If I can finish making that device, I can transmit a signal back to our home planet. There might be a chance for us to go home."

"Well then, you are in luck," said the Doctor cheerfully. "I happen to be an expert at satellite communication and I just managed to fix this device up." He flipped open the black box and a cacophony of voices rang through the air. "It appears that your people are eager to have you back home."

As if to punctuate his words, a low groaning sound began to ring from the skies. Everyone raised their eyes up, just to see the clouds part and a large saucer-shaped ship descending slowly to Earth. A bright light shone like a spotlight around them, as if searching for something.

"Go on, Sir Edward," said the Doctor happily. "Wave at them."

Sir Edward was almost overwhelmed with happiness as he and his household waved frantically at the ship. The spotlight moved to them and stopped. He looked back at the Doctor. "Thank you, sir. Whoever you are. Thank you so much!"

"Oh, it was no trouble at all," said the Doctor with his manic grin.

Sir Edward tore his eyes away from him to look at Rose. "Rose...?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Rose blinked back tears. "Oh Edward," she said sadly. "I am so sorry."

"Miss Rose?" Caroline asked as Mary stared at her beseechingly. "Please, come with us."

"I can't, my dears," said Rose, openly crying now. "That is your world, not mine. I would make a very bad wolf."

Sir Edward sighed sadly and placed a hand each on his daughters' shoulders. "It's alright, girls," he said. "Miss Tyler is right. It is not right of us to ask her to leave her world, never to return." He raised his eyes to Rose and gave a small smile. "I do think you would have made a fine wolf, Rose," he said. "But I respect your wishes and wish you the best."

Rose nodded tearfully as she raised her hand in farewell. The girls waved back enthusiastically and even the staff waved back shortly. Rose had never been too close with them, being neither proper staff nor a proper member of the family, so she was surprised at the gesture. Sir Edward bowed to her and repeated the gesture towards the Doctor and Professor Litefoot.

The spotlight brightened for an instant and then all of the seven people in front of them vanished. The spotlight vanished a moment later and the ship began to move up and up into the sky before the clouds covered it. Soon, it was lost to the night.

Rose lowered her gaze and wiped at her tears. Professor Litefoot patted her shoulder sympathetically. "There, there, my dear," he said. "Come on back into the house. You need some brandy in you," he said.

"What shall I do now?" Rose wondered as she let the Professor lead her back into the house.

"Don't think about it now, my dear," said the Professor kindly as he made her sit in an armchair in the parlour and lit the fire. The Doctor was silent through the whole exchange but he followed the Professor out of the parlour when the Professor gestured for him to come with him.

"Yes?" asked the Doctor in a low voice, aware of the distraught young woman in the parlour.

"I do think you should take Miss Tyler with you, Doctor," said the Professor bluntly.

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I do not cart around people with me, Professor," he said, sounding quite firm.

"But you had Miss Leela with you before," the Professor pointed out. "Instinct tells me that she had been in a situation not unlike Miss Tyler's."

The Doctor had to admire the Professor's perceptiveness. "Yes," he nodded. "But I don't think Miss Tyler is quite ready to leave her world yet and my travels, forgive me, are not always around Earth."

The Professor's eyes went wide. "Are you suggesting that your travels are...in space?" he asked.

"And time too," said the Doctor.

"Can you come back to Earth once you go into space?" asked the Professor, recovering from his shock with surprising grace.

"Of course I can," said the Doctor.

"Then ask her," said the Professor firmly and went back into the parlour.

The Doctor processed his words and then followed him slowly. He saw some colour returning to Rose's cheeks as she drank the brandy that the Professor had poured for her. Upon seeing him, her face burst into a grateful smile and the Doctor couldn't help but grin back.

_Yes,_ he thought. _Perhaps I would not mind her company at all._

* * *

**A/N So, what did you think?**

**We had werewolves, well some form of them at least. And Professor Litefoot who appeared in 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' and later got his own audio spinoff with Mr. Jago. I have a very soft spot for Professor Litefoot. Plus, he had a housekeeper named Mrs. Hudson.**

**We had Four, who is very difficult to write because he is made distinctive by the way Tom Baker acts rather than his actual lines. On top of that, there was no scarf in this one since he wore the same clothes that he wore in 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' i.e. his Sherlock Holmes get up. Seriously, that whole episode is just basically Classic Wholock.**

**And a Victorian!Rose. I had fun writing her. It was weird to write her being so meek but I hope I managed to capture her other attributes better. **

**The next one shot is going to be based on a prompt given to me by Raven Luparyu84. The prompt was Six and Peri, Queen Rose and Vampires. Should be fun.**

**I have a lot of amazing prompts from you guys already but if you think of more, do not hesitate to let me know. I am going to write as many as I can along with any that I think of.**

**Let me know how this one was. See you soon!**

**~ Phoenix**


	3. Bleed it Out

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I make any money from it.**

**A/N Hey guys! Welcome to the third one-shot of the series. It is longer than usual but I just could not stop writing. It is a Sixth Doctor and Rose story, as I mentioned last time.**

**A big thanks to Raven Luparyu84 for this amazing prompt. I hope I did it justice.**

**I have the link to Rose's gown on my profile.**

**Summary: The Sixth Doctor and Peri were hoping for a quiet gala on the prosperous moon of a flourishing planet. They certainly did not expect the charming Queen nor the dangers that were lurking in the shadows.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Bleed it Out**

When the Doctor had told her that he was going to take her to the best party in the galaxy, Peri had already been worried. Things since his regeneration hadn't exactly gone right. Their disaster of a visit to Necros was only the latest in a long line.

But this time, the Doctor had been calmer and a lot more focused when piloting the TARDIS. Taking courage from his optimism, Peri had opted to get all dolled out in an expensive ball gown and the best jewellery she could dig up. Pleased with her appearance, Peri had expected slightly more than a 'took you long enough' from the Doctor.

Scowling at his back, she exited the TARDIS and found herself gasping at the sight before her. In the distance was a magnificent golden palace, looking like it had been painted right out of a fairytale book. Her delight must have shown on her face since she could practically _hear_ the smugness radiating off the Doctor.

"Where are we?" she decided to ask.

"It's a small moon called Esmerelda," said the Doctor. "It was named by a King for his daughter."

"Is that the same King's palace?" Peri asked curiously as they began to make their way towards it.

"No, of course not," said the Doctor as if she had suggested something preposterous. "That King died generations ago. But his descendants still rule." At Peri's questioning look, he elaborated. "You see, this moon orbits the planet of Vrik and as I understand, this is the Royal Family's autumn palace where they host a gala every year."

"Which is where we are going?" Peri asked, excitedly.

"Which is where we are going," nodded the Doctor with a bright smile. "Come along now. Don't dawdle."

Peri wondered if sticking her tongue out at him would be considered too childish. Eventually, she gave up on retaliating and followed the Doctor up the path to the palace. She expected them to be stopped by the guards but to her great surprise, the guards bowed low to the Doctor once he had introduced himself.

"Oh and this is my companion, Miss Perpugilliam Brown."

Now she was definitely going to kill him. He knew she hated her full name. But she smiled weakly at the guards who bowed at her and let them pass through the doors. Once inside, her bad mood vanished instantly upon seeing the magnificent palace. The floor was pure white marble and the walls were a crystal blue colour, sparkling like ice.

It wasn't cold though, not at all. But it wasn't stifling hot either. Peri had to wonder if there was some sort of temperature regulation in place since the outside had been a bit warmer. She glanced upwards but couldn't see the ceiling, since it was so high.

The Doctor tapped her shoulder and nodded towards the actual ballroom where the gala was being held. Peri tore her eyes away from the marvellous beauty of the Entrance Hall and followed the Doctor into the ballroom. If she had thought that the Entrance Hall was magnificent, it paled in comparison to the ballroom.

It was twice as big as a soccer field and the floor was pure white marble again except for the wide dance floor, which was some sort of a smooth, gleaming surface. The walls were icy blue in some parts and a deep red in the others. There were long columns along the room, which held intricately designed candleholders. Peri observed one of them closely to realise that the candles were only made to look antiquated; they were, in fact, highly advanced light sources.

Soft music played from the orchestra in the corner and Peri saw an array of musical instruments from Earth and beyond and even some that looked like a mixture of the two being used. Men, women and aliens dressed in resplendent clothing filled the ballroom. Some of them were dancing, others socialising; but it was evident that everyone was having the time of their lives.

"So, what do you think?" asked the Doctor, with a knowing look on his face.

Peri grinned at him. "It is gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

The Doctor looked pleased at her words and then turned away to search the crowds. "Aha," he murmured. "Come on."

Peri wondered where he was taking her but she followed him quickly. They came to a halt behind an alien couple, who had humanoid bodies but feline faces. "What are we doing?" Peri asked the Doctor in a whisper.

"Waiting to greet the monarch," whispered the Doctor back. "It's considered rude to not do so."

Peri nodded along and tried to peek around the tall feline couple to get a look at the monarch. But there were too many people in the way and the monarch appeared to be standing in with the crowd, not on a throne as Peri had been expecting.

The crowds cleared a bit and as the feline couple went ahead to greet the monarch, Peri caught her first glimpse. She gasped. It was not the stuffy King that she had been expecting to see. Instead, it was a girl, maybe the same age as Peri.

She had blonde hair that was curled elegantly down her back and she was dressed in a magnificent red and gold gown, looking every bit of the Queen that she was. She was smiling at the feline couple and Peri was surprised to see the genuine happiness on her face. Peri turned to look at the Doctor and found him staring at the Queen, dumbstruck. She elbowed him lightly, trying not to laugh when he jumped.

"What?" he asked her irritably.

"You're drooling there a bit, Doctor," she giggled.

The Doctor glared at her but did not answer. The feline couple left the Queen's company and the Doctor and Peri moved forward to greet her. "Your Majesty," bowed the Doctor, taking her hand and kissing it.

She smiled in delight. "You must be the Lord Doctor," she said. "My advisors informed me that you had graced us with your presence. It is an honour to meet you."

"You do me a great service, Your Majesty," said the Doctor but Peri could see the pleased gleam in his eyes. "This is my companion, Miss Peri Brown. Peri, may I present Queen Rose Tyler of Vrik."

"Your Majesty," Peri curtsied like she had seen in the films.

"It is a delight, Miss Brown," said Rose with a wide smile.

"May I ask how you know the Doctor?" Peri asked curiously, hoping she was not overstepping her bounds.

"Oh, I believe this is the first time I have met him," said Rose, with a quick smile at the Doctor. "But he has visited our planet many times in the past. Different regenerations, of course. I do wonder how you recognised me though, Doctor."

The Doctor glanced at her wrist where a bracelet with a rose charm along with a wolf charm was resting. "I recognised the charm," he said, pointing at the wolf charm. "It belonged to your mother."

Rose's eyes widened. "You knew my mother?" she asked, her voice hushed yet eager now.

"I had met her just after she and your father married," said the Doctor reminiscently. "A very...unique woman."

Rose laughed in delight. "You are being too polite, Doctor," she said. "I was told that she had a very fearsome temper. Even from what I remember, she gave me this charm because she called me her 'bad wolf'."

The Doctor laughed with her, trying not to imagine what Jacqueline Tyler would have done to him if she had heard what had passed through his mind after first laying eyes on her only daughter. Peri, on the other hand, looked a bit confused.

"Bad Wolf?" she asked curiously.

"The wolf is our planet's mascot, Miss Brown," Rose answered. "It's the sigil of our House and has been for several thousand years."

"Oh, I see," she nodded.

"Well, we will let you greet your guests, Your Majesty," said the Doctor. "Come along, Peri."

"It was very nice meeting you both," said Rose. "Do enjoy the gala."

"We will," Peri answered with a grin as she and the Doctor left her side. "She is very nice," she said to the Doctor once they were out of earshot.

"Yes, I always found the people of Vrik to be very kind and friendly," said the Doctor.

"You knew her parents?" asked Peri.

The Doctor nodded. "I had landed on their wedding day as a matter of fact. Must have been, three bodies ago," he said. "They are both gone now. The King died shortly after Rose was born; his ship crashed. His wife ruled for a few years but she died when Rose was twelve."

"She came to the throne at 12?" Peri asked, in surprise. "Isn't that too young?"

"She seems to have handled herself well," said the Doctor. "Vrik is one of the leading planets in terms of technology and science. Not to mention their quite pleasing architecture and aesthetic."

Peri had to agree with that. She was just contemplating asking the Doctor to dance when a young handsome man approached her. "May I have this dance, my lady?" he asked her charmingly.

She giggled and nodded quickly as she took his hand. He was an excellent dancer as she found out very quickly and soon, she was having the time of her life.

* * *

The Doctor smiled as he watched his companion having a wonderful time being swung around by one handsome man after another. He owed her a good trip after the past few disasters, he knew. He was only glad that he could give her this trip.

Now alone, he had time to contemplate his reaction to the monarch. He had been quite surprised that the TARDIS had landed them during Queen Rose's reign. He had been aiming for three generations ago but he couldn't complain too much. The technology and architecture was much more pleasant in this era.

_And the Queen is pleasant too_, some traitorous part of his brain reminded him. He tried and failed to shut that part up.

"You don't dance?" he heard the woman in question ask him.

The Doctor shook his head. "I am afraid I seem to have lost that ability with age," he said.

"Now I don't believe that for a second," she said, shaking her head. "Would you do me the honour?"

The Doctor glanced at her smiling face and couldn't bring himself to refuse. Praying to whatever gods that were listening that he did not step on her foot, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor. A space cleared for them instantly when the guests realised that the Queen was beginning her first dance.

As if the nerves weren't enough, the attention brought a whole another load of worries to the Doctor. But then he saw Rose's encouraging smile and just like that, he was leading them both expertly across the floor in a traditional waltz. Her smile widened when she realised that he was getting more comfortable and she squeezed his hand in delight.

He could feel his own smile blossom as he danced with her, feeling like himself after a long time. As the musical piece drifted to an end, he twirled her carefully and ended the dance with a kiss on her hand. There was applause around them and he saw a blush rise on her cheeks, whether from the dance or something else, he didn't know.

He bowed deeply and reluctantly let go of her hand. Soon enough, she was swamped by a host of other men, who wanted a dance. The Doctor retired to his quiet spot near one of the pillars and asked a server to fetch him a lime soda.

"Quite a little show you put on there, Doctor," said Peri as she bounced to his side, looking flushed with all the dancing.

"It would have been rude to refuse," he said diplomatically, accepting his drink with a nod.

"Yeah, you looked really reluctant," said Peri sarcastically. "Admit it, you have a crush on her."

"I do not have a crush on anyone, Perpugilliam," said the Doctor sternly.

Peri rolled her eyes. "Sure, so you say," she said. She looked at the dance floor where the Queen was dancing with someone else. "She isn't smiling as much as she was when she was dancing with you," Peri observed.

The Doctor gave her a look but Peri saw the small smile on his face when he looked away. Stubborn, idiotic Time Lord. She wondered if the earlier Doctor would have been more forthcoming about his feelings. Then, she felt slightly guilty because even after so many months of travel with this version of the Doctor, she still missed his Fifth incarnation sometimes.

The music slowly drifted to an end and the dancers bowed to their partners before leaving the dance floor. Peri glanced at the Doctor in confusion. "What's going on?" she asked.

"It's just a small break," said the Doctor. "Like an intermission. And look, here's the entertainment."

Sure enough a group of young men and women dressed in sparkly green and blue clothing somersaulted gracefully into a formation on the dance floor. The orchestra started playing a faster tune as the acrobats performed various breathtaking moves and manoeuvres. Peri was fascinated, and she cheered and clapped along with everyone else at the impressive display before them.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was distracted. He saw a group of three men dressed in the Royal Guard's garb approach the Queen and say something rapidly to her. The Doctor recognised one of them to be Lord Howard, who had been a friend and advisor to Rose's parents.

A worried expression crossed the young Queen's face and she nodded quickly, her eyes searching the crowd. When her eyes met the Doctor's, she beckoned him with an urgent nod. The Doctor grabbed Peri's arm. "Come on," he whispered, as he began to weave through the crowd to get to the Queen's side.

"What's going on?" asked Peri.

"I'm not sure," said the Doctor as they moved discreetly, trying not to draw attention to themselves. "Where's she gone?" he wondered in a low voice when he realised that she wasn't there anymore.

"Who? The Queen?" Peri asked. "You know if you really are slipping away for a dalliance with the Queen, my presence might cramp your style."

The Doctor glared at her in exasperation but Peri remained undeterred as she giggled at his expression. Before he could snap back at her, he spotted a flash of red and blonde and pulled Peri along with him. "Come on. This way," he said, going towards a chamber just off the ballroom.

The door of the chamber was closed when they got to it but before the Doctor could knock, it opened and one of the guards quickly pulled the Doctor and Peri in. "Your Majesty, is everything alright?" asked the Doctor in concern as he saw Rose sitting in a chair in front of a computer terminal.

"Tell them what you told me, Howard," said Rose with a worried sigh as she typed rapidly on the computer.

"Your Majesty, are you sure?" Howard asked, looking a bit distrustful of the Doctor and Peri.

Rose stopped typing and looked squarely at Howard. "The Doctor is a Time Lord. He might be able to help. And I am sure Miss Brown is trustworthy," she said firmly, the order clear in her tone.

Howard gave a short bow of acknowledgment and turned to the Doctor. "The main planet has received intelligence on a plan to kidnap the Queen," he said gravely. "We believe the culprits responsible are..." he cleared his throat and at Rose's imploring look continued. "The Great Vampires."

The Doctor's eyes went wide. "They are extinct," he said, swelling furiously.

"Evidently not, since our intelligence is fool-proof," said Lord Howard at once.

"Whether or not they are the Great Vampires," Rose interrupted before the Doctor could snap back. "The matter remains that there is a clear threat."

"Your Majesty, we should take you back to the main planet at once," said Lord Howard. "The majority of the Royal Guard is there and you'll be safer."

"That had occurred to me, yes," said Rose. "But the guests are here and I do not want them left vulnerable."

"All due respect, Your Majesty, but if the kidnappers are after you they are not going to harm the guests," said Lord Howard.

"They will if they are Vampires," said Rose, levelly.

"She's right," said the Doctor. "But I think you should still go back to the main planet," he added, looking at Rose. "Lord Howard and the rest of the guard here can evacuate the guests."

"Very well," said Rose. "I shall go. But, only after the guests have been safely evacuated." There were protests from both the Doctor and Lord Howard at this but Rose glared at them steadily. "That is an order."

Lord Howard did not look happy but he conceded with a nod. "Hector, you are to stay here with the Queen. Lord Doctor, you are the Queen's official advisor until this crisis is over," he ordered. "Benji," he said, turning to the other guard. "Gather the rest of the Guard on Esmerelda and begin evacuation. I'll come with you to supervise."

"Be careful, Howard," said Rose, concerned.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Howard nodded with a smile and left with Benji in tow.

"Are you alright?" Peri asked the Queen in concern.

Rose smiled weakly at her. "Of course, Miss Brown," she said. "This is hardly the first time I have been in this situation."

"There have been other plans to kidnap you?" asked Peri, her eyes wide.

"Kidnap, assassinate, you name it," said Rose with a light shrug. She looked at the Doctor who had listened to their conversation but was pretending not to. "What would the Great Vampires want with me?"

"I am not so sure they are Vampires, Your Majesty," said the Doctor. "But if they were, I doubt their intentions are good."

Rose tried to control the shiver of fear at his words. "Hector, how's the evacuation going?"

Hector quickly relayed the question via his comm. to Benji. "Almost done, Your Majesty," he said. "They are also bringing around your shuttle."

"What about the Doctor and Miss Brown?" Rose asked.

"We have our own transport," said the Doctor. "It is right outside the palace. A blue box."

"Make sure that it is brought inside then," ordered Rose.

Hector nodded and passed on the message. Rose stood up and paced around the chamber. "Do we know if the Vampires are here or on the main planet?"

"No, Your Majesty," answered Hector. "The main planet notified us because an unidentified ship was spotted in our airzone. When they examined it, they realised that it was the same ship that was seen leaving the carnage of Panipta."

"Panipta was destroyed?" asked the Doctor sharply.

"Annihilated, almost a year ago," answered Rose grimly. "No one understands what happened. King Adam," she shook her head sadly. "He was a friend of mine. They never even found his remains."

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor with an uncharacteristic soft look on his face.

Rose smiled at him gratefully and nodded. "If it is the Vampires, how can they be stopped?" she asked.

"Decapitation is an effective way of getting rid of them but it is very difficult to get close enough to do that," said the Doctor.

"Don't worry, Doctor," said Hector confidently. "Our Guard can deal with it."

"I'm afraid they might be difficult for your Royal Guard to handle. Even in small numbers, they have the capacity to destroy entire planets," said the Doctor grimly.

Hector opened his mouth to say something else, presumably about their Guard's skill when Rose silenced him with a look. The doors of the chamber burst open and Lord Howard and Benjit burst in, looking agitated.

"Howard! What happened?" Rose demanded.

"Your Majesty," Howard gasped through laboured breathing. "The Vampires. They are here."

* * *

"Slake! Stop messing about!"

"I can do what I want," snapped Slake as he threw off the acrobat he had just drained.

"We are here to work, not waste time," snapped Abner.

"You're not my boss, Abe," snapped Slake as he picked up another acrobat whose neck he had snapped. He bit into her jugular and started draining her of blood.

Abner stared at him in revulsion. "You are such a disgusting slob, Slake," he said, shaking his head.

"Hey, think we'll get to have a go at the Queen?" Slake asked as he tossed aside the second acrobat and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "She looks like she could be delicious."

"Keep dreaming," snorted Abner. "The King Vampire is a possessive bastard. He's not going to let the likes of you touch her."

Slake glared at Abner as he stood up. "Likes of me? Are you hoping the King is going to share her with _you_?" he demanded.

"Don't be crass, Slake," said Abner with a roll of his eyes.

"Are you nearly done?" the King Vampire's voice came from behind them.

"Yeah," said Abner. "Slake here has been snacking though."

Slake glared at Abner and the King Vampire looked disdainfully at Slake. "You eat like a savage, Slake," he said. "Abner, open the comm. link to the Queen. Do you remember the plan?"

"Of course," said Abner.

"Good," he said. "I'll be waiting in the garden."

* * *

"How many people?" asked Rose, aghast.

"Most of the staff and performers," said Howard sadly.

Rose blinked back tears. "Any survivors?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Just the people in this chamber," said Howard.

"What about everyone else on the moon?" Peri asked with a gasp. "People who weren't in the palace?"

"Peri," interrupted the Doctor in a low, cautious voice. "This moon only houses the palace. No one lives here permanently." He looked at Rose, who looked visibly shaken but was trying hard to keep a strong facade as she questioned Howard.

"Your Majesty," interrupted Benji. "We are getting incoming communication."

"Answer it," said Rose, her forehead wrinkling in question.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," came a polite, male voice over the voice system. "My name is Abner and it is my coven that invaded your planet's moon."

"What is it that you want?" Benji demanded.

"I will speak only to the Queen," came Abner's voice.

"Give it to me," said Rose, holding out her hand for the comm. "This is the Queen," she spoke. "Mr. Abner, perhaps you would tell me why you thought it necessary to invade my kingdom and slaughter my people."

The Doctor was impressed by her strength. She'd just had a major chunk of her kingdom's population murdered and the rest of them were in grave danger. But there was not a quaver in her voice as she spoke.

"The answer is simple, Your Majesty," said Abner. "We require you."

"For what purpose?" asked Rose sharply.

"You have one hour to present yourself to me in the central garden of the palace," said Abner, not answering her question.

"And if I don't?" asked Rose.

"Feast your eyes on a viewing screen trained on your planet," said Abner.

Rose looked confused but the Doctor quickly opened up a viewing screen on the computer in front of Rose. It showed the green and orange planet of Vrik against the dark sky.

"It's fine," said the Doctor in confusion.

There was no answer from Abner's end. But then there was a small bright light on the planet that started getting bigger and bigger until it enveloped the whole planet. The people in the chamber watched in horror as the light consumed the whole of the planet before dying down silently. As the light disappeared, so did the planet until the sky was empty.

Utter silence.

"What...what happened?" Peri asked at last.

"Planetary Dispersion," said the Doctor, too horrified to say anything else.

"What does that mean?" Peri asked.

"It means they used a blackhole to trap and destroy my planet," said Rose, her voice void of all emotion. "My planet, my people...they are all gone." Her knees buckled and the Doctor caught her before she fell and eased her into a chair. Rose's eyes were unstaring and unmoving as they remain fixed on the screen showing the empty sky.

Lord Howard, Hector and Benji were just as numb as they stared at the screen. Their families and friends had been on the planet. And now they were all dead. Sucked into a blackhole. Their home was gone, taking everyone they loved with it.

The comm. in Rose's hand jumped to life as Abner's oily voice came through. "I assume you witnessed the event," he said. "The garden in one hour or this moon gets the same treatment." Communication was cut off and Rose dropped the comm.

"Your Majesty," tried the Doctor softly.

"I'm not a Queen anymore, Doctor," said Rose, sounding like she had aged decades in the last few minutes. "I have no people."

* * *

"How did it go?" asked the King Vampire, once Abner and Slake had arrived into the garden.

"Like clockwork, my King," said Abner. "The equipment worked perfectly." He patted the said equipment with a pleased look. It had taken them a long time to perfect such powerful machinery.

"I still say we should have kept the planet," Slake butted in. "Think of all those delicious people we could have feasted upon."

"We needed leverage, Slake," snapped Abner.

"Once she has no people to rule, she has no alternative but to join us," said the King, a smirk lighting his face.

"But she must have some guards in the chamber with her," said Slake.

"You two can have them once the Queen is ours," said the King lazily.

"Thank you, my King," said Abner with a deep bow while Slake nodded hungrily.

"The Queen better hurry up then," said Slake with a demented grin. "My throat is a bit parched."

* * *

"I have to go," said Rose, standing up suddenly.

"Your Majesty, you can't!" Lord Howard protested.

"I am NOT a Queen!" snapped Rose angrily. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I apologise, Howard," she said in a softer voice. "But if I don't go, then I endanger all of you. I already have the blood of my planet on my hands, I do not wish to have yours too."

"Rose," said the Doctor, being mindful of not addressing her as the Queen. "I am quite sure that the Vampires will harm us regardless of whether or not you surrender to them."

"But why?" asked Rose, her voice full of anguish. "Why do they want me so much? What have I done?"

"You are a great Queen," said the Doctor calmly. "No, you are," he said when she started to shake her head. "They must need a Queen and they chose the best one that they could find."

"Some Queen I am," said Rose, her eyes filling with tears as she looked back at the screen with the empty sky.

"That was not your fault," said Lord Howard roughly. "You have done nothing wrong. Our people adored you and there was not one person on that planet who would not have laid their life down for you. You are still our Queen," he said softly. "We still serve you."

Rose stared at Howard in awe. Her eyes moved to Hector and Benji who had sunken into a bow before her. Wiping her tears, she straightened up. "Then as your Queen, I shall do my final duty," she said, her voice steady. "I shall meet the Vampires in the garden."

"Your Majesty..." interrupted the Doctor.

"I know that you said they might harm you regardless," she said. "But I shall make sure that they let you go. Your ship is in the palace, Doctor. Please promise to take Lord Howard, Hector and Benji with you."

"Your Majesty, we shall come with you," Hector volunteered as Benji nodded.

"No," said Rose, smiling softly at them. "Go with the Doctor. Save yourselves. Tell the universe of our lost planet. You are not meant to die here." Her eyes moved to the Doctor who was watching her with an odd look on his face. "Doctor, Miss Brown," she said. "It was an honour to know you both."

Peri bit back a sob and nodded at the brave Queen. "I am so sorry about everything," she said, knowing that her words would probably sound hollow.

"I shall come with you," announced the Doctor.

"No, Doctor," said Rose, at once.

The Doctor's jaw clenched and his gaze became fierce. "I refuse to let you go to your death," he said.

"I am afraid you must," said Rose softly.

"I am a Time Lord, it is my duty to fight the Vampires," said the Doctor.

"That is why you must not come with me," said Rose earnestly. "Your people need to be warned. We don't know how many Vampires there are. If we all die here, then their existence remains a secret. They will be free to slaughter more planets."

The Doctor sighed and gritted his teeth. "Then at least allow me to escort you through the palace and to the garden," he said.

Rose stared at him for a moment before nodding. "As you wish," she said. "Time is nearly up," she whispered.

"You shall always be our Queen," said Lord Howard as he, Hector and Benji sank into a bow.

Rose nodded at them and placed her hand on the Doctor's arm. With a final smile at Peri, the two of them left the safety of the chamber.

"You did not have to do this," said Rose as they moved through the deserted palace.

"Yes, I did," said the Doctor.

"I need to ask a favour of you, Doctor," said Rose as they neared the garden.

"Anything," he said.

"We both know that if the Vampires want me as their Queen, they are going to..." she tried to suppress a shudder.

"Make you like them," provided the Doctor through gritted teeth. "I am aware, yes."

"Then I need you to promise me something," said Rose, stopping so that she could look him in the eye. "Stop me."

"I'm sorry?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"Stop me," repeated Rose. "Before I harm anyone. Before I turn into a monster. Promise me that you will stop me."

"Your Majesty," he said, his mouth suddenly dry. "You are asking me..."

"To kill me? Yes," said Rose. "I need your word, Doctor."

"I..." the Doctor stumbled. Did she realise what she was asking of him? But her gaze was steady and imploring as she looked at him. "I promise."

Rose gave a smile that made his hearts hurt and ducked her head in thanks. "We're here," she said, stopping outside the gates that led to the garden. "I wish for you to have this," she said, pulling out the wolf charm from her bracelet and giving it to the Doctor.

"I can't take that," protested the Doctor.

"Please," she said and waited until the Doctor agreed and closed his fist over the golden charm. "Goodbye, Doctor."

"Goodbye, Rose," said the Doctor, unwilling to let her go. Rose touched her palm to his cheek for a moment before turning around swiftly and opening the gates. Without a backward glance at the Doctor, she stepped into the lion's den.

* * *

"Welcome, Your Majesty," said Abner as he saw the Queen walk in. Slake and the King were out of sight for the time being.

"You must be Abner," said Rose, not bothering to suppress the hatred in her voice. "You are the one who destroyed my planet. My people."

"Apologies," said Abner in an oily manner. "I was under orders."

"Orders?" Rose asked, a bit thrown off. "Whose orders?"

"Mine," said the King Vampire, stepping out of the shadows with Slake right behind him.

"Adam," Rose gasped. "You...you...are..."

"Not dead? A Vampire?" asked Adam with a smirk. "Yes, my dear Rose."

"But Panipta," said Rose, confused beyond measure. "Your planet, your people."

"Pathetic bunch," sniffed Adam. "Weak and tempestuous. When the Vampires came to me and offered to build a kingdom, do you know what my people did? They rebelled against me. Me! Their King!"

"You sold out your own people?" Rose asked, not being able to conceal the disgust in her voice.

"They were NOT my people," yelled Adam. "They turned on me. I offered them an eternal life and they turned on me!"

"You were going to turn them into monsters!" Rose said angrily.

Instead of getting angrier, Adam laughed. "I wouldn't be so harsh to judge us, dear Rose. After all, you will be one of us soon."

"Why?" asked Rose. "Why me?"

"Do you even have to ask?" asked Adam as he began to walk towards her slowly. "I have admired you for so long, Rose. You are the most beautiful Queen in the galaxy. If any beauty deserves to live for an eternity, it is yours."

Rose flinched slightly at the lust in his voice. But then her head shot up and she straightened herself. "Fine," she said. "But I have one condition."

Adam looked so pleased at her compliance that he hastened to agree. "Whatever you need," he said.

"Let the remaining people on this moon go," said Rose.

"No way!" shouted Slake. "They are our snack."

Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust but looked at Adam squarely. "There are only a few of them. Just let them go."

"I did promise them they could eat," said Adam, waving towards Abner and Slake.

"If you don't," said Rose in a steely voice. "I shall poison myself."

"What?" asked Adam, shocked.

"You heard me," said Rose. "If I inject poison into my system, you shall not be able to turn me or drink my blood."

"But you will die!" said Abner.

"I am going to die either way," snapped Rose.

"You're bluffing!" shouted Slake. "You don't have poison. You did not have enough time to be prepared for something like this."

Rose levelled a square look at him. "A Queen," she said, emphasising her words carefully. "...is ALWAYS prepared."

Adam looked furious. "We will restrain you," he threatened. "You won't be able to take the poison."

"What makes you think it's not in a pin?" she asked, sounding a tad mocking. "It could be in my hair, or my shoe, or my dress. It can even be an implant inside my skin."

"Fine!" snapped Adam. "Let them go!" He ignored cries of protest from Abner and Slake. "Do as I say!"

"I need to hear a confirmation from them before I surrender the poison to you," said Rose, sitting down on a stone bench in the garden and crossing her hands on her lap primly.

The Vampires looked furious but it looked like they wanted Rose badly enough to let the others go. Abner relayed the message to them and they only had to wait a few moments before Lord Howard said that they were all safe and away from the moon.

"Good," said Rose, making sure that her hands were still crossed in her lap. With a quick flick of her wrist, the rose charm in her bracelet pierced her skin and drew blood. The three Vampires smelled it at once. "But I'm afraid I will not be holding up my end of the bargain," she said, showing them her wrist where the poison within the charm had pricked her.

"NO! NO! No! No!" Adam shouted as they could smell the poison in her system. "Do something! Do ANYTHING! I WANT HER AS MY QUEEN!" he continued to shout but Slake and Abner could do nothing.

Rose smiled victoriously as the King dissolved into hysterics, and his servants stayed powerless. She swayed lightly and fell to the ground, the poison in her system taking hold and dragging her towards death.

* * *

"What about the Queen? Can't we save her?" Peri asked once they were all safely inside the TARDIS.

"No," said the Doctor. "We need reinforcements. The Time Lords will be have more sophisticated machinery than anything that I can whip up in the TARDIS." He started to press the buttons for the dematerialisation sequence, feeling self-hatred in his every pore.

He still had Rose's wolf charm in his hand and he glanced at it forlornly, hoping that the universe would one day deem to forgive him for the death of that brilliant girl.

"Is that Her Majesty's charm?" Howard asked.

"Yes," said the Doctor sadly. "She gave it to me."

Howard clutched a hand to his chest. "We have to go back," he said. "There is only one reason why she would ever give away that charm."

"What do you mean?" demanded the Doctor.

"The rose charm on her wrist contains a rare poison," explained Howard hurriedly. "The only antidote is in that wolf charm. If she has given you that..."

"Then she has poisoned herself," realised the Doctor. With a haste that was reminiscent of his past body, he whirled around the console, taking them back to Esmerelda, wanting to land in the garden. If Rose was poisoned, then the vampires would not be able to do drink her blood or turn her into one of them.

That clever, clever girl. She had known that all along. But the Doctor was not going to let her die. She had given him the antidote because she had known he would save her. And he wasn't going to fail her again.

The TARDIS began to materialise in the garden and the three Vampires hissed in anger. "Time Lord!" hissed Abner.

The doors flung open and Benji and Hector ran out, the long swords that the Doctor had given them in their hands. Even Lord Howard was attacking King Adam while the Doctor ran over to where Rose had fallen. She was deathly pale and so cold that the Doctor was afraid he was too late. Knowing that he had very little time left, the Doctor lifted her up and ran back to the TARDIS.

"Lord Howard! Hector! Benji! Come on!" he yelled.

"No, Doctor!" yelled Howard as he fought off Adam. "Save the Queen! We shall hold them off!"

The Doctor started to protest when he realised that Rose had stopped breathing. With a desperate look behind him, he ran inside the TARDIS with Rose. He laid her down quickly and gave the charm to Peri. "Inject the antidote," he ordered and ran back outside.

Peri took the charm and used it to pierce Rose's other wrist. She was trembling when she realised that it might already be too late to save her. But then Rose gave a loud gasp and Peri sighed in relief. She ran inside quickly to fetch water and some blankets.

Outside, the Doctor saw that Benji and one of the vampires was already dead and Hector and Howard were losing strength really quickly. He was about to run in to help when Hector gave up fighting and ran towards a block of machinery near the edge of the garden.

"No! Hector!" yelled the Doctor, knowing that it was the same equipment that had been used to destroy Vrik. It was now supposed to be trained at this moon and the press of one switch would mean that Esmerelda was also destroyed by the blackhole.

"It's the only way, Doctor," said Howard as he pushed Adam away. "Leave now!" he yelled as Adam roared and charged at him.

The Doctor saw Hector's hand on the switch and ran into the TARDIS. He noted with some relief that Rose was breathing and Peri had covered her with blankets to keep her warm. He quickly put the TARDIS in flight and took them away from Esmerelda.

"What's happening?" Peri asked as he kept them in the airzone and had his eyes trained on the scanner.

"Watch," he said quietly and Peri saw the moon of Esmerelda brighten and disappear just like its planet.

"The vampires are dead," said Peri in a low voice. "Did the others...?"

The Doctor shook his head sadly. Peri gave a sob and buried her face in her hands. The Doctor put an arm around her shoulders and tugged her into a comforting hug. "They were very brave," he said, feeling his own grief in his hearts.

With a quick pat on Peri's arm, the Doctor bent down to pick Rose up. "I'm taking her to the medbay. She needs to recover," he said.

"What will she do now?" Peri asked as she followed him.

"I don't know," said the Doctor, laying her down on an examination cot in the medbay.

"Can she come with us?" Peri asked hopefully.

The Doctor tried to appear nonchalant as he picked up the scanner to start examining Rose. "You know what, Peri? I think I just might ask her."

* * *

**A/N Thanks for reading. So, what did you think?**

**Slake and Abner are the vampires from the Eighth Doctor novel 'Vampire Science'. And Adam is the idiot-who-got-a-door-in-his-head. **

**I know the technology to destroy an entire planet that quickly is very hard to imagine but the Vampires are supposed to be as ancient as the Time Lords and it would make sense that they had very advanced technology. Or at least, had the knowledge to develop such technology.**

**So, what did you think of Queen Rose? I had fun writing her. **

**The next prompt has been asked quite a number of times. It is 'Post-War!Nine and Time Lady!Rose'. I have added in some Time War!Eight and President Romana for good measure. I'll upload it soon.**

**~ Phoenix**


	4. 21 Guns

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I make any money from it.**

**A/N Hey guys! Thanks for the awesome response to the last story. I wasn't honestly expecting that sort of a positive response to a Six/Rose story.**

**And now, here we are with a Nine/Rose with a healthy dose of Eight, Romana and a few surprise guests. And Eight's description is taken from the 'Dark Eyes' cover. Google it.**

**This was requested by LovelyPrincessUsako as well as Time-Lady-Rose. The latter also added 'Barcelona and discoveries' to the prompt. Hope you enjoy, my dears!**

**Summary: Sometimes, discovering that you are not alone can make the best story of your life.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**21 Guns**

Assassination of President Kennedy.

Krakatoa.

Titanic.

It was as if the universe did not want him to forget that death was everywhere. Everywhere he stepped foot, there was death waiting for him. But it never took him. Not even after he went out of his way to confront it.

No, he was left to watch as others around him died. Over and over again. As if it was the universe's way of punishing him for his deeds.

He had become so weary of death that when he landed on the planet Barcelona in the summer of 5006, he almost expected some disaster to befall the beautiful planet. Knowing that the imminent catastrophe would be inescapable, he found a small park and sat down in the slightly orange grass.

The twin suns of Barcelona were bright in the sky and the Doctor felt his hearts grow heavy. This place was far too much like his doomed home planet. He could almost imagine that the orange grass was actually a vivid red if he closed his eyes and pretended.

A loud, friendly bark made him open his eyes and he saw one of the noseless dogs of Barcelona, gazing curiously at him. The bright red collar around its neck told him that he had wandered off from his owner.

"Where's your owner then, old boy?" asked the Doctor gruffly as the dog tilted its head and stared at him.

The dog whined and upon evidently deciding that the Doctor was not going to hurt him, ran over to him and jumped in his lap. The Doctor stared speechlessly at the dog who had decided to make himself comfortable in his lap. The Doctor drew out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the dog's collar. A hologram screen burst forth with the dog's information.

_Name: Abydos_

There was information about the owner but the Doctor could only stare at the familiar name. Abydos...Lake Abydos on Gallifrey...with its singing fish and summer homes...

"Abydos? Abydos!"

The Doctor and Abydos looked up at the woman's voice and the Doctor's hearts nearly gave out as he felt a familiar tingling at the back of his skull. The woman gasped upon seeing him and walked towards him slowly.

"Are you...?" she asked. "You're a Time Lord, aren't you?" she asked in a hushed voice. She knelt before him and grasped his hand. "Are you real?" she asked. "Are you actually real?"

The Doctor's fingers drifted to her wrist and he felt the double pulse beneath them. "You are too, aren't you?" he whispered, looking into her hazel eyes that looked older than her young face.

She nodded quickly, blonde hair bobbing up and down. "I thought...everyone..." she could hardly finish her sentence as she gazed transfixed at him. "I am Rose," she added hastily. He raised his eyebrows at the distinctly not-Time Lord name. She caught his look and gave a half-hearted smile. "It is a diminutive of my proper name," she explained. "And you are...?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said.

She gasped again as she sat down in front of him. "I have heard of you," she said. "You were Lord President twice and everyone called you..." she flushed and looked away. Her mouth had run away with her again.

The Doctor could not bring himself to be angry or embarrassed. He was too relieved to find one of his own people. "They called me the mad renegade, I know," he said, his eyes twinkling at her. He looked carefully at her. "You are too young to remember my terms of Presidency."

She nodded quickly. "I was just out of the Academy when..." she looked away sadly. "I heard you were the only survivor of Arcadia."

The Doctor's smile vanished and he stared at the grass impassively. "Yes," he said, barely moving his lips as he answered.

"What happened after that?" she asked him.

"What do you remember?" he asked her curiously.

Rose frowned as she tried to remember. "It was a few days after Arcadia. I remember this heat, like an inferno. Raging through the skies..." her eyes were far off as she spoke and the Doctor was trembling visibly as he remembered the scene vividly. "Then there was a howling and I woke up here. On Barcelona. That was nearly a year ago, relative time."

"You have been here a year?" the Doctor asked with great effort.

She nodded. "I had no way of leaving. I was too young to have been given a TARDIS and even if I had one, I wouldn't know where to go. I tried searching...but my mind..._so empty_." The last two words were spoken in Gallifreyan as tears gathered in her eyes.

The Doctor felt his own eyes fill up as he knew exactly what she had felt. He was still grasping her wrist, so he stroked her hand comfortingly. "Mine too," he confessed softly. "I can't tell you...can't even begin to tell you..." he trailed off, shaking his head in despair.

She looked down. "Someone enacted the Moment, didn't they?" she asked in a low voice, trying not to flinch.

"How do you know that?" the Doctor asked sharply, his hand leaving hers. He ignored the coldness that crept over his hearts at that.

"It would explain a lot," she said sadly. "And I remember this soldier..."

"Who?" asked the Doctor, almost scared of what she would say.

"I don't know...I never asked his name," she said. "It was the day after Arcadia. He looked so...sad. So tired and so old."

The Doctor closed his eyes and allowed himself to remember. The day after Arcadia...

_Flashback_

_President Romana gazed out of the wide windows of the Presidential Palace. Gallifrey's formerly resplendent citadel was now in ruins. Smoke rose from the broken buildings, obscuring the orange glow of the planet, making it look a dull amber._

_Arcadia had fallen yesterday and the Council had been frantic. Their last line of defence had fallen. They were on the brink of loss._

"_You called Madam President?"_

_Romana unexpectedly felt a human emotion at those words. She remembered the same man berating her, complimenting her, arguing with her, teaching her...But now he sounded tired. Old. Older than she had ever heard him. He had been the sole survivor of the battle of Arcadia. _

_She suddenly felt too scared to turn around and look at him. His voice had already lost its warmth. She remembered complimenting his new form; his voice had been gentle, soothing and not that she would ever admit it, very, very pleasant. But now it was all gone. It was cold, emotionless and tired._

"_Romana?" A shadow of gentleness ghosted over the word and Romana turned around slowly._

_His eighth form, when she had first met him, had worn grey breeches, a white wing collared shirt, grey vest and cravat and a green frock coat. Very Edwardian. Now, he wore dark trousers, military boots and a double breasted navy leather coat over a dark jumper. His previously long curly hair was closely shorn. Stubble grew over his earlier clean shaven face._

"_Doctor," she greeted slowly, trying to move her mouth into something resembling a smile._

_His gaze remained detached as ever. "You sent for me?" he prompted again._

_Romana nodded slowly, wondering how she was going to break the news to him. She hated herself so much but she knew he would hate her more when he realised what she was going to ask of him. "The Council made a decision today," she said. _

_He didn't say anything; just waited patiently for her to elaborate. She suddenly felt a pang as she remembered how much he loved to ramble. She wished she was that Romana again. The one who travelled with the Doctor in his TARDIS and argued with him about the efficiency of dimensional stabilisers..._

_A tired sigh escaped her mouth. "They plan to resurrect Rassilon," she said._

_The Doctor's previously cool demeanour broke. "About time too!" he said. "Maybe he can put an end to this ghastly business."_

_Romana heard the hope in his voice and hated herself just a bit more for giving him that. Not when her next words were going to rob him of it. "The physical resurrection will take some time but we managed to converse with him," she said slowly. "He has proposed a solution."_

"_What is it then?" he asked, sounding eager._

_She paused and held his gaze for a moment. "He plans to execute the Final Sanction."_

_The words hung in the air for a long moment. The Doctor stared at Romana, speechless. "Tell me that I misheard you," he said, his voice uncharacteristically harsh._

"_Rassilon has his mind made up and the Council agrees," she said, knowing that he had heard her perfectly fine._

_CRASH_

_Romana tried not to flinch as the Doctor threw an expensive antique vase from her office on the floor, breaking it. He let out a roar of anger as he walked up to Romana. "Has everyone lost their minds? We can't...the Final Sanction..." he could barely speak the words, as enraged as he was by the very idea of it._

_She stayed silent, letting him get accustomed to the idea. She remembered biting her lips to stop spewing every hateful word she knew at Rassilon when he had suggested this. The Doctor was still cursing loudly and fluently, pacing in her office and occasionally throwing expensive antiques on the floor._

"_The Council agreed?" he asked finally, panting slightly despite his respiratory bypass._

_Romana nodded slowly. "As soon as Rassilon gains a physical form..."_

"_Tell me you are not agreeing to it," he said, his voice equal parts begging and angry._

"_Of course not," snapped Romana, losing her cool for the first time since he had walked into her office. _

_He had the grace to look slightly ashamed. "Is that why you sent for me?" he asked softly._

_Romana pushed back her anger and indignation and nodded. "My days as the President are numbered. As soon as Rassilon is resurrected, he shall be President. And I am quite certain that my views will not be particularly welcome to him and the Council," she added with a bitter smile._

_The Doctor's harsh face softened ever so slightly. "Oh Romana," he sighed. "I am so sorry." He knew there was nothing he could do. The Council and Rassilon would kill anyone who opposed them. Romana had days to live, even less if she started to speak against them. _

"_I don't need your pity, Doctor," Romana snapped. "I did not call you here hoping to be saved. I called you because I have a way to stop this and there is no one else I trust."_

"_You have a way to stop this?" he asked, his eyes wide._

_Romana nodded and reached into her robes. The Doctor gasped when she drew out the Moment. _

"_Romana," he said, looking at the Moment as if it was the vilest thing he had ever seen. "No."_

"_There isn't another way," said Romana, trying to keep her voice steady. "Either you use this to destroy us all or Rassilon destroys the whole universe."_

_The Doctor started shaking his head. "No, no, there has to be another way," he said, trying to convince himself as much as her._

"_There is no other way!" Romana said, her voice rising in anger. "It is simple, Doctor. Take this and end it all."_

"_I won't do it!" the Doctor yelled. "Do you realise what you are asking of me? You are asking me to commit genocide. Destroy two powerful species; one of them my own. No, absolutely not," he shook his head emphatically._

"_Then I hope you have the stomach to stand by and watch as Rassilon executes the Final Sanction," said Romana, advancing on the Doctor, who flinched. "The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart."_

"_Stop," the Doctor pleaded in a small voice._

_Romana refused to back down. "No one can survive that. Not even us. But us, being the higher beings that we are, will turn into creatures of consciousness and live an eternal life free of our physical forms."_

"_Stop," the Doctor's voice was louder and stronger now._

"_But that isn't the end of it, Doctor," she continued ruthlessly. "The rest of the universe will perish. It will turn into dust. The whole of creation will be destroyed."_

"_STOP!" The Doctor's voice was cold and furious. "Enough."_

_Romana was breathing heavily as she glared at the Doctor. "The Moment is our only hope," she said, her voice shaking with the effort of suppressing her sorrow and self-hatred. "Please, Doctor. Take it and use it."_

_The Doctor looked down at it, conflict raging in his hearts and mind. It went everything against he believed in to commit genocide. Killing Daleks would perhaps bring him satisfaction; years of war will do that to a man. But his own people? As much as he loathed them, hated everything that they stood for...they were still his people. No one had been more critical of them as him, no one had more reason to hate them than him but he could never ever entertain the notion of killing them all._

_But if he didn't...then the whole universe would be destroyed. All those people and life forms, all that beauty, all that pain, all that sorrow; all of it would be gone. An empty void where he would be trapped with the rest of them. Never dying, never resting. Trapped in an eternal life._

_His palm closed over the Moment and he felt Romana's sigh of relief. He refused to meet her eyes as he kept his gaze fixed on the Moment. "When does Rassilon get a physical form?" he asked slowly._

"_Tomorrow," she answered._

_The Doctor nodded curtly. "I shall take my leave then," he said. "I doubt it will remain a secret for long that I possess the Moment. And they will try and hunt me down. I have to disappear."_

_Romana nodded in agreement. "Our lives are already forfeit, Doctor," she said. "Just...as our final farewell to the universe, let's save it one more time."_

_The Doctor watched her with a soft look on his face. "It was a privilege to know you, Romanadvoratrelundar," he said._

_Swallowing against the lump in her throat, Romana nodded. _"_Goodbye, Doctor."_

_He left her office and walked slowly through the Capitol. He had parked his ship in the TARDIS nursery under the Capitol in the hopes that the singing of those new corals would soothe her agony. She was suffering as much as him, if not more. _

_He expected the nursery to be empty, so he was surprised to find a young Time Lady chartering the growth of a young TT 270. She was humming along lightly to the song of the young coral, her blonde hair swaying as she flitted around. The Doctor watched her in fascination and gasped when he realised that she was an Empath._

_Empaths were rare; even on Gallifrey there were only a few born every few millennia. She was young; probably just out of the Academy. And he was going to kill her. Like he was going to kill everyone else. _

_A sob broke through his lips and the Time Lady looked up. "Hello?" she called. "Is anyone there?"_

_The Doctor found himself unable to move as she looked around. Her eyes found him and the Doctor knew the exact moment when she felt his emotions. "Oh," she said, her eyes filling with tears. _

"_I am sorry," he whispered, not even knowing what exactly he was apologising for._

_She looked as if she was about to throw his arms around him and his eyes widened. Such a human response that one. He had almost forgotten what touch felt like. But she stopped herself from running to him and he was disappointed. _

"_Have you got a family?" he asked her. The masochistic part of him needed to be fed. Why not pile more guilt onto himself? It wasn't like he could hate himself any more than he already did._

_She shook her head. "My House...they're all gone. The war..." she gulped and looked away._

"_Sorry," he said, feeling like an utter bastard. It had been uncalled for; bringing up painful memories for her to feed his tortured self-worth._

_She nodded at him, her face starting to slip into the mask that he knew she would have been trained to master. "I have to go," he said, knowing he had already delayed as much as he could._

_She nodded again and the Doctor sighed and walked towards his TARDIS. When he had reached the doors, he heard her speak. "Are you going to save us?" she asked._

_He turned around and met her eyes. "Yes," he said firmly._

"_Thank you," she said and then smiled._

_She was the last person the Doctor ever saw in that body of his._

_Flashback Ends_

Brought to the present with a loud gasp from Rose, the Doctor stared at her in fear and awe. Of all the people to survive, what were the odds that an Empath he had met right before the end had lived.

"It's you," whispered Rose. She raised her hand and touched her fingers to his cheek. "You have changed."

The Doctor had flinched when her hand had moved towards him, as if expecting her to strike him. But he was surprised at the tender gesture. She was the first to touch him so intimately in this body. "I enacted the Moment," he confessed quietly, keeping his gaze locked with hers. "It only took a little time to time-lock the whole of Gallifrey and every other war zone I could manage. I didn't expect to survive, my TARDIS was right in the middle of it but somehow she managed to take me away before the eye of the storm closed. My body had already become weary because of the war and the release of energy of that sort...it didn't take long for me to die. I didn't expect to wake up."

Rose slowly let her hand fall from his cheek before throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. He stiffened at her touch and Rose had a moment of panic as she remembered Lady Thalia lecturing her.

"_You SHOULD NOT initiate contact with anyone without their permission. Your...ah, unique abilities, might make them uncomfortable."_

Rose began to withdraw but the Doctor, who had felt Thalia's words in his mind too, brought his leather-clad arms around her waist to hold her in place. "I..." he whispered, his voice starting to shake as Rose felt his cold tears dripping into her hair. "I need you to forgive me. For all that I did. For every life I took. For Gallifrey. For our families, friends, everyone." His shaking worsened and Rose let out a cry of anguish as she heard the raw pain in his voice. "Please, forgive me," he begged. "Please. _Forgive me_."

Abydos whined mournfully but the two Time Lords stayed in their close embrace. "I forgive you," said Rose, speaking deliberately to make sure that he understood. "You saved the universe and I am sorry for the burden you have been carrying on your own. I am so, so sorry."

The Doctor tightened his grip on her and wept into her hair. Rose stroked the back of his neck as she tried to soothe him as best as she could. It was a difficult thing to do because she had been just as damaged as him. But as her forgiveness poured into her mind, so did his gratitude into hers.

Perhaps, one day they could both heal enough for him to let go of his guilt, and for her to lose her loneliness.

Years later on the Crucible, the two Time Lords stood shoulder-to-shoulder as the insane Dalek Caan cackled about seeing time in all of its infinity. _"I plucked the wolf from the storm and dropped her on the land with two suns."_

Centuries later, Rose finished the last chapter of her book and looked at her husband fast asleep next to her. His new bowtie had landed on the lamp on his side table where it had been tossed during their earlier activities. His new floppy hair was lying askew on the pillow and Rose smiled as she closed her book and laid it on her side table.

Turning off the light, she curled into her husband's embrace. His new arms came around her and without opening his new green eyes, he asked her the question that he was dying to ask. "Did you finish it?"

Smiling, Rose placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "For now," she proclaimed. "Ready for volume Eleven?"

He placed a decidedly not-chaste kiss on her mouth. "Geronimo."

* * *

**A/N And the end it is. Thanks for reading.**

**It went in a very different direction than I expected, I confess. Still, what did you all think?**

**To sum up, Rose met Eight, then Caan dropped her on Barcelona where she met Nine and consequently they travelled together. And it ends (continues?) with Eleven. By the way, the flashback with Eight is my personal headcanon of the final days of the Time War. Well, except the part about Rose. He could have spoken to Susan instead. Or taken a trip to Earth and met Rose briefly.**

**Anyway, let me know how this one was. I have three different one-shots that I am writing right now: Three and Scientist!Rose, Eleven and Luna University Student!Rose, and Ten, Jack and Egyptologist!Rose. Whichever one gets done first will be up first.**

**See you then!**

**~ Phoenix**


	5. True Colours

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.**

**A/N Thanks for the amazing response on the last chapter. ****I am sorry that I haven't been updating but the site wasn't sending out alerts for some reason. And then, my laptop broke down meaning I lost about a week's worth of writing. Thankfully, I have a new laptop now and I have finally caught up to the point where I was a week ago.**

**Here is the promised one shot about Eleven and Luna University Student!Rose. The legend of the enemies has been drawn from the amazing J. K. Rowling. Read 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them'. I love that book.**

**Summary: Rose Tyler was an ordinary university student before the Doctor appeared in her life. But really, who is teaching whom?**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**True Colours**

"_...the principle of 'Terra nullius' was used to colonise the land that would be known as 'Australia.' Terra nullius is a Latin term for 'land belonging to no one' and..."_

Rose Tyler took notes in her British Colonial History lecture, trying very hard not to go to sleep. The lecture had started only ten minutes ago and she was already bored. Not that the subject was boring; not at all. In fact, early Earth history was Rose's favourite subject. But their instructor, an android by the name of Nero, was the dullest lecturer in the universe.

As Nero started to describe the colonisation of Australia, Rose gave up listening completely and started to doodle on her writing pad. It took her a full minute to realise that she had sketched the front quad of Luna University with detailed accuracy. Surprised at her own skill, she smiled and signed her name at the bottom right corner.

"Nice drawing," commented the student sitting next to her and Rose jumped, not having seen him looking at the sketch. "Rose Tyler," he added, reading her signature.

"Thanks," Rose said, giving him a once-over. He was only a few years older than her, with floppy brown hair, a big chin, but kind, emerald green eyes. He was wearing too-short trousers, grey vest over a white shirt, a purple bowtie and a purple tweed coat. Not the usual sorts she would see around the campus then.

He noticed her uncertain expression and gave her a beaming smile. "I'm the Doctor," he introduced. "And this is the most boring lecture I have ever sat in. Which is a big feat considering that I come from one of the most boring civilisations in the universe."

Rose couldn't help it; she grinned back. "I know, right?" she whispered conspiratorially. "Our usual lecturer took ill so we have Nero filling in for a few weeks," she said. "Though I can't understand why you are sitting here if you are not taking the class. Are you a masochist?" she joked lightly.

He beamed at her. "I have been called one in the past," he winked. "But you are obviously an artist who is sitting in a history class. So, I suppose you must have some masochistic tendencies too?"

Rose giggled and shook her head. "I _am_ studying history," she said. "Art is just a hobby."

The Doctor looked surprised as he glanced at the notepad with the sketch and then up at Rose. "But you are so good at it," he said with such genuineness that Rose was taken aback.

"Thanks," said Rose, blushing lightly. "But I need this degree if I want to stop working in the gift shop and actually get a job in a research capacity at the museum. Art is all well and good, but it's not going to feed me."

"So, if you weren't worried about that, what would you really like to do?" he asked.

Something in his expression told Rose that he was genuinely interested to know. She looked down at her sketch as she spoke, hoping that he wouldn't laugh at her. "I want to visit every planet that humanity has ever set foot on, and capture it into my drawings. All that architecture, buildings, and nature, trees and mountains and flowers…" She stopped suddenly and stared at the Doctor. "Why am I telling you this? I've never told anyone before."

"I just have one of those faces," he said but it wasn't condescending.

She shook her head. "Sounds daft, I know," she added self-deprecatingly.

"I think it sounds cool," he said firmly.

Rose knew he was probably just trying to make her feel better but she smiled gratefully at him anyway. "I know it will never happen. Even if I worked for years and years, I could only afford a handful of trips every few years. That too, if I am lucky."

He leaned in close to her as if to impart a great secret. "I wouldn't be so dismissive of the idea," he said.

Rose was about to ask him what he meant by that when Nero dismissed the class. Rose tore her gaze away from the Doctor and began to pack her stuff up. She could see him smiling at her, and when she stood up, he did too. "Listen," said Rose, gathering some of her courage. "Do you wanna grab a coffee?"

He looked genuinely disappointed. "Ah, I am actually here to meet a friend," he said apologetically.

Rose's face flushed. She had just tried to ask a bloke out who already had a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. Whatever. The point was, she never, ever went after someone in a relationship. "Right...yeah," she stammered, wanting to get away as far as possible. "I'll just...yeah."

She practically ran from the lecture hall, even as she heard him call her name. It took a lot in her not to turn around but she kept on walking, not turning around until she rounded the corner. A quick look wouldn't hurt, she decided. The Doctor was almost lost in the sea of students who had come out of the Archaeology Hall next to theirs and Rose felt her heart sink when she realised who the Doctor's friend was.

Professor River Song.

Disappointed, Rose turned around and ran towards her tiny flat in student housing. It would be a while until she forgot this embarrassing encounter.

* * *

The Doctor watched in dismay as Rose disappeared into the crowd. He wished he had got a chance to explain that he really would like to have a coffee with her as soon as he had finished talking to River. But it appeared that she had been embarrassed and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why.

He had decided to sit in the lecture hall next to River's because River had banned him from ever coming into her classroom after the time that he had interrupted 54 times during a single lecture. But in all honesty, who really believed that the Stonehenge in Jelspa was built by the Draconians?

"Doctor!" River cried in delight when she saw him. "What a surprise!"

The Doctor smiled as he hugged her. "That's me, the Surpriser!" he grinned. "Or, ooh not that," he frowned. "How are you, River?" he asked, switching to jovial in a moment.

River laughed. "I am alright, Doctor. Come on, let's get a drink." The Doctor nodded and let her lead the way to a small cafe where River ordered tea for both of them. "So," said River when the server had brought their tea to the table. "What brings you here?"

"What? I can't visit?" he asked, faking outrage. River raised her eyebrows and waited for him to explain. "I followed a very weird signal here."

"Ah," said River. "What sort of a signal?"

"I don't know, that's why I am following it," he said, sounding thrilled at the prospect. "But I know that Amelia would not have been pleased if she found out that I was at the University and left without visiting you."

"How are mum and dad?" River asked, sipping her tea.

"Fine, fine," said the Doctor. "Asking when you will visit."

"I might go in a few weeks," she said. "Can I count on you for a lift?"

"Sure, just give me a call," he beamed.

"You know, a year ago you would have complained about not being a taxi service," River teased over the rim of her cup.

The Doctor stuck his tongue at her. "Last year, I didn't know who you were. You could have been an assassin, an impostor, a spy..."

"The daughter of your best friends?" she asked cheekily.

"Yes, that," he grinned. "Now, how could I trust you before I knew that I mentored you?"

"Touché," agreed River. "So, any reason why you were looking like a lost puppy while waiting outside my classroom?"

"Ye...I mean no," said the Doctor, pouting slightly. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Did you meet someone really interesting?" River guessed.

"Fine, so I did," said the Doctor, knowing she would keep pestering him until he answered. "A history student who is a very talented artist and wants to travel the universe to draw it."

"Sounds just your type," said River. "So, what went wrong?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor, frowning. "We were talking, she asked me out for coffee, and the next thing I know, she is running away from me."

River bit her lip to avoid laughing. "You didn't happen to mention that you were meeting me, did you?"

The Doctor's brow furrowed. "I did," he said. "Why?"

River started shaking her head. "Oh Doctor," she sighed. "The girl probably thought you were meeting a girlfriend or something. Poor thing was embarrassed that she invited you out."

"But you are not my girlfriend or anything like it!" said the Doctor.

"I know, Doctor," said River, rolling her eyes. "And I don't wish to be either. But you inadvertently gave her the impression that you did."

The Doctor crossed his arms and sighed. "I ruined it," he said, sounding downcast.

River took pity on him and patted his hand. "Chin up, Doctor," she winked. "You might run into her again."

"Yeah, okay," said the Doctor, still pouting lightly. "So, do you think they have Jammy Dodgers here?"

* * *

As the alarm rang for 1 am, Rose woke up and got out of her bed. Splashing cold water on her face, she muttered unsavoury things about her own obsessive need for being up at an ungodly hour. She brushed her teeth and then shivered under the spray of the water for three minutes before the water was warm enough.

Ten minutes later, she stepped out into her perpetually tiny flat and got dressed. She had to wear tights under her jeans along with a thick pair of woollen socks due to the cold. She had at least three layers of shirts on before she put on her red trench coat. She checked her packed satchel and then wore her gloves and scarf and left her flat just as the clock was striking 2 am.

Jogging lightly and shivering violently in the cold simulated air (and she was in half a mind to thump the moron who decided that actual seasons should be simulated in the University's artificial atmosphere) she swung her legs atop her bicycle and pedalled her way down to the library. Students were still out and about; some of them night owls like her who could only function at night or else, the ones drunk and passed out.

She got to the library in record time. She always preferred this easy, downhill journey from her flat to the library than the other way around. Pedalling uphill while being saddled with a pile of heavy history tomes was the worst, in her opinion.

She parked her bike and then made her way inside. She had to be thankful that this library was open 24 hours and that her friend, Donna, sometimes worked as the night librarian. Donna was a History Ph.D. candidate who was a few years older than her.

Rose preferred this library because in addition to it being open 24 hours and Donna's occasional companionship, it was also quite empty. People studying history rarely ventured out into the night. Tonight, however, Donna wasn't in sight.

Shrugging, Rose made her way to the quietest part of the library and dropped her satchel on the table. Her phone read 2:23 a.m. and she tucked it back into her pocket. She needed three books (to start with) and she began the hunt. Just as her luck would have it, the first one that she needed was at the top most shelf.

Sighing, she pushed the rolling ladder towards the right spot. She could have asked the librarian for help but she felt that she was perfectly capable of getting the book on her own.

At least, that was what she tried to tell herself as she climbed the precarious ladder. Thankfully, the book case was against the wall so if it toppled, the whole library wouldn't collapse like dominoes like it did in films.

She reached the top step, but was too hesitant to climb up to the very top. Carefully, she rested her knee on the step and stretched upwards to get the book. Her fingers brushed against the dusty tome and she used her other hand to brace herself.

As soon as that hand touched the middle of the shelf, the whole thing spun violently. Rose lost her balance and crashed to the ground. Immense pain shot through her side and head. An odd buzzing filled her ears just as everything went black.

The tendrils of consciousness snuck into her psyche and Rose registered the fact that she was lying on a rug of some sort. Which was extremely uncomfortable for one, and also completely unfamiliar.

"The female is awake," hissed a low voice and Rose sat up quickly.

"Who's there?" she asked, wincing at the tremor in her own voice as she squinted into the darkness.

There was no answer but a bright light lit up, momentarily blinding her. She shielded her eyes with her hands and tried to see past. A dark, misshapen figure was walking towards her and Rose scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could. The figure moved closer to her and Rose was about to run when she felt someone run up next to her and attack the dark figure by spraying them with a fire extinguisher. The figure hissed in pain and her saviour gave a triumphant laugh and snatched her hand.

"Run!" he said and pulled her along.

It only took a moment for her to realise that it was the Doctor. Too dazed by everything that had happened, Rose decided to let him pull her along. It was only after he pulled her into a passageway that very much looked like it led to the catacombs that Rose asked him what the hell was going on.

"You were almost captured by the Runespoor," he told her as he pulled her into the catacombs.

"Runespoor?" Rose asked disbelievingly. "The three headed snakes? Aren't they mythological?"

"Myths have a basis in fact," he turned around briefly to wink roguishly at her. "They come from seven galaxies over. A vastly secretive species."

"What are they doing at the university then?" asked Rose. "For that matter, where were they exactly? Last thing I remember was…"

"The library?" he guessed. "It had a spinning bookcase," he explained excitedly. "I should get one for my TARDIS, you know."

"Your what?" Rose asked but before he could answer, she shook her head. "No, hang on. Tell me where we are going first."

"Away from the Runespoor," he said. "The catacombs are part of an old subterranean tunnel used for transport by the early settlers."

"And why are we in it?" Rose asked.

"It's a shortcut!" he explained, slightly insulted at her scepticism. He was too busy glaring at her for that and ran smack into a wall.

Rose had to work very hard not to laugh. "You alright?" she asked, an amused smile slipping through regardless.

The Doctor got to his feet and rubbed his head with an exaggerated pout. The tunnel in front of them was blocked because of a cave-in that the Doctor had just run into. "Minor hitch," the Doctor declared when Rose looked significantly at the blockage in their way.

A loud hiss echoed from behind them and they jumped closer instinctively. "Doctor," said Rose in a low voice. "Please tell me you have another plan."

"Oh…" said the Doctor in a slightly high voice. "Not as such, no."

Rose punched his arm in retaliation. "We are in the catacombs with three-headed snakes after us and you don't have a plan?" she hissed angrily.

"Snake," corrected the Doctor.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Not snakes, just one of them," he said.

"That can't be right," said Rose. "I was a bit shook up but I distinctly remember at least two different voices."

The Doctor smiled at her like she was missing a huge and obvious point. Rose stared back at him, wondering what she had missed when it clicked. Runespoor…A three-headed snake…Three heads…

"What do we do?" asked Rose as the hissing came closer.

"Follow my lead," said the Doctor and stayed precisely where he was.

Rose was bewildered but the Doctor silenced her with a look and asked her to stay still. The hissing came closer, until the Runespoor was standing right in front of them. Rose couldn't quite contain her yelp as she finally got a good look at it.

It was a biped, easily taller than six feet and dressed in dark overalls that covered everything from the neck down. The part from above the neck split three-ways into three snake heads, all of them bright orange with thick black stripes.

The middle one's eyes were unfocused and the tongue was slithering out almost lazily. In contrast, the right one was baring its fangs and hissing angrily at the Doctor and Rose. The left one was calmer but still focused sharply on the Doctor and Rose.

Rose was suddenly reminded of her assigned course text for 'Creatures of Mythology'. She had been taking the class just so she could sketch the various beasts since it was part of their assignment. The Runespoor hadn't been described in much detail but the text did say what the three heads were for. The middle one was the Dreamer, the left one was the Planner and the right one was the Critic.

She would forever wonder how she had managed to remember that while she was being confronted by one of them in a dark, dank catacomb with a madman and no way out.

"Ah, hello," said the Doctor, a bit nervously from his tone yet his grip on Rose's hand was completely steady. "I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"

The left one, the Planner, looked calculatingly at him. "We are the Runespoor," it answered.

"Oh, that's nice," said the Doctor, his tone betraying that this was anything but. "Isn't it nice, Rose?"

"Sure, yeah," said Rose hastily, wincing lightly when she heard how hoarse her voice sounded.

"Yeah, I think so," agreed the Doctor. "This is Rose, by the way," he told the Runespoor. "She is studying history when clearly she should be making really creative and beautiful art."

Rose couldn't resist elbowing him in the ribs for that, despite the situation that they were in.

The right head, the Critic, hissed and bared its fangs even more prominently. "Enough chatter. Let's kill them," it declared.

"Stop," commanded the Planner calmly. "Are you natives of this place?"

"Rose is, I am not," said the Doctor. "But you know, we really should let your friend over here talk," he added, looking at the Critic.

Rose wondered for the hundredth time if the Doctor was actually raving mad. Why was he encouraging the one head that was hell-bent on killing them?

The Critic hissed in pleasure at the Doctor's words. "I shall rip your throats. I shall let my venom flow slowly and painfully into your body and watch you die in agony…"

"Stop it," snapped the Planner and even the Dreamer focused its eyes on the Critic. "Our purpose here is peaceful."

"There shall be no peace," hissed the Critic. "We shall rip the humanoids and aliens. The ground of knowledge shall be bathed in the bloods of its students…"

"Quiet!" hissed the Dreamer, sounding even angrier than the Planner.

"No, let him speak," said the Doctor again.

"What are you doing?!" Rose hissed but the Doctor ignored her.

"We are only here to study, remember?" the Dreamer asked the Critic sharply. "We promised the homeworld that we would not harm anyone…"

"Bah!" said the Critic rudely and before they could blink, sunk his fangs into the Dreamer's head.

The Dreamer hissed in pain and started to collapse. Upon seeing the Dreamer harmed, the Planner hissed angrily and attacked the Critic. The Critic had bigger fangs but the Planner had a cooler head (so to speak) as it dodged each of the attacks before sinking its fangs into the Critic's head. The Critic collapsed in pain and the Planner was the only one that remained.

The biped body fell to its knees and the Planner looked up at the Doctor and the horror-struck Rose. "I…I apologise…" With those words, the planner died too and the body fell flat to the ground.

There was a long silence that was broken when the Doctor tugged on Rose's hand. "Come on," he said. "Let's go."

Rose could not utter a single sound as the Doctor led her out of the catacombs and out into the parlour on the other side of the spinning bookcase from the library. He made her stand right by the bookcase and pressed the lever that turned them around sharply back into the library.

Upon seeing her familiar surroundings, Rose snatched her hand away from the Doctor. "You did that on purpose," she said.

"What?" the Doctor was taken aback. He had been expecting a thanks, maybe even a chance to ask her to come with him. But not the hostile look that she was currently sending him.

"I only just remembered the whole mythology of the Runespoor. The Critic is the impulsive one, the one without any morals or regard. That head is often killed off by the other two since they only need two heads to survive," said Rose in the same disappointed and angry tone.

"I know!" said the Doctor, still baffled by her hostility. "That's why I was goading it."

"But it wasn't necessary, was it?" Rose's voice was frostier than the simulated cold air of the Luna University. "They said their intentions were peaceful yet you kept pushing the Critic's buttons and making them angrier."

The Doctor felt a sudden chill in his hearts. Rose continued on, unaware of the effect her words were having on the Time Lord. "The other two would not have let the Critic harm us but you didn't even give them a chance. Your plan all along was the idea of causing conflict between them and watching them kill themselves."

She finally looked into his eyes and realised that she had genuinely shocked him. As if he hadn't known what the consequences of his actions would have been. She stepped away from him, shaking her head. "I've gotta go," she said, rushing over to the table with her stuff on it.

The Doctor was still frozen as she gathered up her stuff and turned to leave. "I thought you were a Doctor," she said, without turning towards him completely. "Meant to help people and all that. At least, you sounded like that when we talked in class this morning. Guess I got that wrong too."

With those hurtful yet completely truthful words, she strode out of the library. The sun was rising by the time she pedalled back to her flat. She paused long enough to toss her books and clothes away before collapsing on her bed and bursting into tears.

* * *

The Doctor was nearly 1300 years old and for once in his life, he had completely lost faith in himself. He'd believed that his idea for dealing with the Runespoor had been very clever, when in fact it had been cruel and undeserving. Rose was right, he hadn't even given them a chance.

What sort of a man had he become? He had chosen to call himself the Doctor, the man who made people better. But his actions hadn't been of a man who made someone better. He had become one of those villains that he despised. The ones who thought themselves too clever to think of anyone else's welfare.

He remembered the disgusted and disappointed look on Rose's face and felt like someone was twisting a knife in his gut. This wonderful human that he had met was completely repelled by his abhorrent actions and he didn't blame her one bit. He ought to stay away from her and not ruin her life any more than he already had.

But then he remembered the beautiful sketch of the front quad that she had drawn so absently that he didn't think she had even been aware of doing it. The lines of the buildings had been precise, yet the shading had looked exactly like the sun filtering across the quad. It was equally technical and artistic, equally rational and beautiful. Bit like Rose then.

He may be a repulsive creature but she was so much better. She deserved more than a degree that she was doing just to earn a living. She deserved to do what she loved, deserved to see the universe…

Rubbing his hands roughly across his eyes, he marched over to her flat. He would beg, plead, cajole…do whatever it took to make her see how special she was and how much he needed her to stop him from being the man that he had turned into.

The Doctor needed Rose Tyler, to stop him when he went too far, to hold his hand, to be his friend, his companion…and he would do anything to earn her forgiveness and acceptance.

Three years later, Professor Song received a wedding invitation in the mail. She opened the TARDIS blue envelope with a smile and saw the invite that had been hand-painted by none other than the bride-to-be.

_You are cordially invited to witness the joyful union of the Doctor and Rose Tyler. _

Laughing to herself, she started to type out an email to her Head of Department for leave and sent off a quick message to Donna to let her know that she owed her a new bottle of champagne.

It looked like they had a wedding to plan.

* * *

**A/N Thanks for reading. What did you think of it?**

**I have noticed Eleven getting more and more dickish in his episodes and I thought, who better to call him out on his shenanigans than Rose? Hope you didn't mind the slightly hostile exchange.**

**The Runespoor are so interesting. Like I mentioned before, it was Rowling's work, not mine.**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought of it. I have a new one shot with Chameleon Arch!Eight and Rose that I am very, very keen to write. Let's see. **

**~ Phoenix**


	6. Dream a Little Dream of Me

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I make any money from it.**

**A/N Hey guys! Sorry for my unexplained absence. I have been on a spontaneous vacation but I am back now so updates will be more regular from now on. I apologise if I haven't replied to any reviews but I have lost track of the ones that I have answered and ones I haven't. So sorry if I haven't answered anything important. **

**Speaking of reviews, this story has passed 100 reviews. That is amazing. **

**And once again, we have a new one-shot. This time an Eighth Doctor/Rose Tyler. Eight was requested quite a bit along with Bad Wolf!Rose and UNIT!Rose so I decided to combine a few things. Also this is 11,000 words long. Phew!**

**Summary: Captain Rose Tyler is UNIT's best operative and Kate Stewart's right hand woman. Things seem to be going smoothly when Kate gets a late night visit from the Doctor who implores her to help him hide as a human. With a Chameleon-Arched Eighth Doctor as their new Medical Officer, things at UNIT shake up.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Dream a Little Dream of Me**

"_Help, I need help."_

Those words still rang in Kate Stewart's ears as she showed their new Medical Officer to his surgery. Last night had been the weirdest one she had ever had so far, and considering what her normal life was usually like, it was really saying something.

She had been sure that it had been a dream when she had heard the TARDIS in her backyard before an unfamiliar man had stumbled out.

"_Brigadier! I need to hide. They are following me."_

"_Who are you?"_

"_Kate. Little Kate. Oh, how you've grown. But this means I'm late. He's gone, isn't he?"_

"_If you're referring to my father…"_

"_There isn't time to explain. I have to start the process soon. Help me hide, Kate. Please, it is vital that you help me."_

"Here we are," said Kate now, indicating the infirmary. "Your office is just through that door. I trust that everything is to your satisfaction, Doctor Smith?"

"Oh absolutely," he said, sounding delighted. "Thank you for showing me around, Dr. Stewart."

"Just Kate please," she said. "I'll let you get acquainted with your new workplace then, Doctor."

"John is just fine," he smiled as he took off his suit jacket and picked up a white lab coat. "Have a good day, Kate."

"I will…John," said Kate as she gave a small smile and left the infirmary. She was halfway to her office when she remembered that she had to drop a note to General Bambera regarding the recent addition to her staff. The paperwork on this one was going to be hell.

"Is Captain Tyler in yet?" she asked her assistant as she went into her office.

Kate's assistant shook her head. "She's in the field today," she answered. "You look like you could use a cup of tea. Or something stronger."

Kate laughed. "I have had an odd night and didn't get much sleep," she confessed, rubbing her temples. "Tea sounds nice. Make one for yourself too, Mira. Something stronger is going to have to wait until five, I'm afraid."

Mira nodded and left Kate's office to fetch them both tea. Kate sighed mournfully at the pile of paperwork in front of her and started to fill in the situation report to General Bambera before remembering that this might be needed to be kept off the books. She picked up the phone instead.

"Winifred, it's Kate. What are you doing for lunch?"

* * *

"The Wolf is in position. I repeat, the Wolf is in position."

"Never thought we'd get to see the boss all dressed up like this," muttered Corporal Mitchell, looking at the blonde woman sitting at a table near the café window dressed in a chic white knee-length dress.

"I heard that," murmured Captain Rose Tyler as she stirred sugar into her coffee and resisted the urge to throw her six inch heels at his head.

"Sorry, Captain," came Adam's embarrassed apology and the muffled laughter of the rest of the squad members.

"Focus, you lot," Rose murmured as she lifted her coffee cup and took a sip. The grunts fell silent instantly, knowing that there wold be hell to pay tomorrow in training if they pissed off the boss.

"9 o'clock, boss," came Sergeant Simmonds' signal and Rose casually glanced to her left and saw a man in an expensive Armani suit entering the café. He stopped a few paces in and glanced around before his gaze zeroed in on her. She gave him a small smile and raised her hand in greeting.

"Miss Prentice?"

"That's me," she said, indicating the seat in front of her. "Do I have the pleasure of addressing Mr Tannoy?"

"Mr Tannoy will be along shortly. I'm his head of security," he said.

"Mr Tannoy needs security in a public place such as this?" asked Rose, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, his face betraying no emotions.

Rose gave an unconcerned nod and returned to sipping her coffee. Tannoy's head of security kept staring at her but she gave no indication of impatience or irritation. She could see that her non-reaction was starting to annoy him. Ten agonising minutes passed before a balding man entered the café followed by two more men that looked like security behind him.

"Miss Prentice, I apologise for my lateness," said Tannoy as his Head of Security stood up and pulled out a chair for him.

"Not a problem. Shall I order you something?" asked Rose, her tone politely patient.

"I would prefer it if we got down to business right away," he said.

"Of course," said Rose. "As per our earlier conversation, my very generous offer of quarter of a million pounds still stands."

"It _is_ a generous offer," he said, inclining his head. "But I have a buyer for 300,000 pounds."

"For a stuffed Raxacoricofallapatorian arm?" she asked, her gaze disbelieving.

"Well, it is rather unique after all," said Tannoy.

Rose pretended to mull it over. "If it's all the same to you, I would prefer to examine the artefact before raising my offer," she said.

"Of course," said Tannoy and clicked his fingers.

One of the security men behind him left the café and returned momentarily with a large Cello case. He stood it up next to Mr Tannoy's chair.

"When he shows the arm, move in," came Sergeant Jake Simmonds' order to the squad.

Rose tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear, meaning that she agreed with the order. Tannoy's head of security stood up and clicked the case open. He opened it and Rose saw the arm resting inside it.

"NOW!"

"Put it up!" shouted Rose as she stood up and pointed her gun at Tannoy's head.

"I wouldn't try it," said Jake as he pointed his gun at Tannoy's head of security while the rest of the squad secured the other two security personnel.

"Fredrick Tannoy, under the authority of Unified Intelligence Taskforce, I am charging you for the crime of smuggling banned alien artefacts," said Rose. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the International Criminal Court. You have the right to retain a state-sanctioned attorney. Stand up."

"UNIT, huh?" said Tannoy, looking only slightly ruffled as he stood up. "You had me going for a while, Miss Prentice."

"It's Captain Tyler to you," said Rose as Tannoy was handcuffed. "Is everyone secured?"

"Yes, Captain," said Jake as Tannoy and his three men were handcuffed and sat down.

"Good, contact HQ and call for prisoner transfer," ordered Rose.

"Yes, Captain," said Corporal Ross Jenkins with a firm nod.

Rose tucked her gun back into her thigh holster as she looked around the café. They had emptied it of all civilians before commencing this operation and this definitely counted as a success. Tannoy was a slippery bastard and hopefully, this stunt would see him imprisoned for a while.

"The troops are on the way, Captain," reported Ross.

"Fine," said Rose. The door to the café slammed open and a man dressed similar to Tannoy's security burst in and fired his gun.

"Put it down!" shouted Jake as he and Ross rounded on the shooter.

Upon seeing his boss and the remaining of his security people under arrest, he dropped his gun and raised his arms. Jake kept his gun on him while Ross handcuffed him.

Jake lowered his gun and turned around to look at the Captain when he saw the red splashed against her white dress. "Man down, we have a man down," he spoke into his radio. "Call for a medic."

* * *

Dr John Smith was having a lovely day so far. The job with UNIT had come as a blessing in disguise. He couldn't keep working at the same hospital as Grace now that they had broken up. It was just too awkward.

His military experience had counted in his favour when he had applied for this job and so far, his duties were quite normal. He had just been examining personnel files when he got a message.

_Medical emergency. 1 GSW. ETA 4 minutes._

He jumped to his feet and started to prep the infirmary for a patient with the gunshot wound. He had less than four minutes before his patient would be wheeled in. However, a gurney was wheeled into his infirmary merely three minutes later.

"This is ridiculous," the woman in the white dress was saying. It took a moment for John to realise that she was the patient. She definitely looked annoyed at all the fuss. "Honestly, it's just a graze."

"With respect, ma'am," said the Corporal with her. "We need to hear a medic say that."

"Don't be a smartarse, Jenkins," she said, rolling her eyes before she looked at John staring at her with a half-amused, half-exasperated look. "Hello. Don't think we've met."

"It's my first day," he said as the gurney was wheeled to the bed.

Without waiting for anyone to help her, the woman jumped off the gurney and sat down on the bed, still clutching her left arm with her right hand. Considering the amount of blood splattered on her dress and currently on her hand, John had to admit that she might be right about it just being a graze. Still, he had to check for muscle damage.

"Can you remove your arm, Miss…?"

"Captain," she said. "Captain Rose Tyler. And you are?"

"Dr John Smith," he said as he pried her hand away and looked at her arm. "How do you manage to get shot on your day off, Captain?" he asked as he started cleaning the wound.

"Not my day off," said Rose, not even wincing as he cleaned the wound. "It was an undercover op."

"Oh. Were you successful before you got shot?" he asked as he assessed the damage. It was just a graze, only breaking the skin and leaving the muscle undamaged.

"Yes, we got them," she said, looking slightly happier. "The shooter barrelled in later. We think he might have been the driver."

"Ah," said the Doctor.

"Tell Adam he has some explaining to do," Rose told Ross. "It was his job to secure the entrance of the café."

"Yes, Captain," nodded Ross, looking justifiably angry at Adam's mistake. They were lucky this time but next time might not be so. "With your permission, I'll brief Sergeant Simmonds in, Captain."

Rose gave a nod as the Doctor started bandaging her wound. "Tell Jake to oversee the prisoner transfer," she said.

Ross hesitated. "He's going to want to come and see that you are okay, ma'am," he said.

"I'm fine," said Rose. "Right, Doctor?"

John looked up and gave a nod. "It's a minor wound. You'll be healed within no time at all."

"See," said Rose smugly. "Tell Jake to make sure that Tannoy and his men stay put. We can add attempted murder of a UNIT officer to their charges."

"Yes, Captain," said Ross before he left the infirmary. John finished patching up Rose's wound and started putting his equipment away. When he turned back to his patient, he found her on her feet.

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked her.

"I have to brief Kate and General Bambera," she said, looking around for her shoes.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait," he said firmly.

She looked at him in surprise. "You said I was fine," she said. "I would like to get back to work now," she added, finally finding the heels that she was wearing during the undercover op. She grimaced at them and tossed them away. "I need my uniform and a decent pair of shoes."

"Captain Tyler, I need to keep you under observation for at least 24 hours," he said, putting on his best Doctor voice that made even the most difficult patients comply.

"Fine, Doctor," she said without hesitation. "You can come with me and observe."

Before he could register what she had said, she was walking out of the infirmary. Having no choice but to follow her, he set out after her. She was walking at a brisk pace, despite having no shoes on her feet. They passed one of the supply rooms and she ducked inside to fetch a military jacket and a pair of boots.

"Captain, I must insist on you getting into bed. You might go into shock," he said as she put the jacket on over her ruined dress.

"I am pumped full of coffee and adrenaline, Doctor," she said as she slipped the boots on. "If I decide to crash, I'll eat something sweet."

"That is not the point," he said, trying to be stern but feeling himself blush at the tongue in teeth grin that she shot him. "You might be in pain once the adrenaline wears off."

"I'll take an aspirin then," she said cheekily as she set off again.

John was nearly jogging as he followed her. He wondered which deity he had pissed off in his past life to be saddled with a patient as difficult and endearing as her. He was supposed to be treating her for the effects of a gunshot, not be distracted by her smile (or her legs).

She slammed the doors open of an office and John entered after her to find that it was a conference room. There were five other UNIT grunts, including Ross Jenkins who had brought Rose in. Kate was also waiting inside and John noticed the worry on everyone's face before it morphed into an expression of relief.

"Rose, you're okay!" said Kate.

"Yep, just a graze," she shrugged.

"Uh, Captain, why is the doctor following you?" asked a man with spiky blond hair.

"He's supposed to be observing me for 24 hours," said Rose with a grin. "Doctor, meet my team. This is my second in command, Sergeant Jake Simmonds," she said, pointing to the spiky haired blond. "You've met Ross already, that's Corporal Maya Shah, Corporal Lana Brennan and Corporal Adam Mitchell."

Her tone was icier as she introduced Adam and John found himself glaring at the idiot too. He had almost got Rose killed by being negligent. Then his mind pointed out that Captain Tyler had somehow become Rose without his knowledge. Trying to fight off a blush, he nodded as Rose, er Captain Tyler, introduced him to her squad.

"I have secured Tannoy and his men, Captain," Jake reported. "Tannoy sent for his attorney as expected."

"What about the artefact?" asked Rose.

"It's been secured," answered Maya. "R & D are already at work."

"I'll be overseeing it myself," said Kate. "But I have an appointment with General Bambera to keep. She'll be glad to hear that we have Tannoy. Rose," she said, in a firmer voice. "Listen to the Doctor and don't come in to work without a clean bill of health."

Rose's protest were cut off by a stern look from Kate and she gave a nod. Kate smiled in satisfaction as she nodded at John who smiled back gratefully. Once Kate was gone, Rose ordered her squad to start filing incident reports before demanding to see Adam in her office.

John knew that he had other duties to attend to, but knowing that there was no way he was going to be able to coax Rose into the infirmary, he decided to follow her. If she was fine with it, he would be observing her, albeit in an unorthodox way.

"You don't mind, do you?" he asked regardless as he followed her and Adam into her office.

"Not at all, Doctor," she said. "Make yourself comfortable." Her smile vanished as she stared at Adam. "Explain."

"I'm sorry, Captain," he said. "It won't happen again."

"You're right, it won't," she said sternly. "You are officially on probation, Corporal. One more mishap and you'll be kicked off the squad. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"You will report to training tomorrow at 0500. Double sets of everything until I deem that you have learned your lesson. Dismissed."

Adam saluted and left her office. John looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You went easy on him," he commented.

To his surprise, she laughed instead of taking offence. "Maybe you should oversee my training sessions, Doctor. I am not very nice when I train my squad. To ask him to do double sets is quite a punishment."

John was intrigued. He realised that it was becoming a common feeling around Captain Rose Tyler.

* * *

"He's turned himself human," repeated General Bambera for the third time since Kate had first told her.

Kate just gave a nod, knowing that the General would snap out of it in her own time.

"Did he mention why?" she asked.

Kate nodded. "He mentioned something called 'The Family of Blood'. They were hunting him and he decided that this was the best way to hide from them," she explained.

General Bambera nodded slowly. "So, he doesn't remember anything from his life? Anything at all?" she asked.

"Not as far as I can tell," said Kate. "The false memories that were created by him are actually based off his life though. He remembers working with my father, but just as a doctor would with a brigadier in the army. Nothing more."

"I see," said General Bambera. "Who have you briefed about this?"

"You're the first one," answered Kate.

"What about Captain Tyler?" she asked.

"Rose was just injured in the field this morning. She is being looked after by the Doctor. Or well, John Smith. I haven't had a chance to brief her in," said Kate.

General Bambera was silent for a while. "Don't brief anyone else in," she said finally.

Kate raised her eyebrows. "Not even Rose?"

"Not even Rose," said General Bambera. "The only ones who can comprehend this idea have to be the ones who have actually met the Doctor before."

"I haven't seen him since I was a child," Kate pointed out.

"But your father was close to him and you've grown up hearing stories," said General Bambera rationally.

"You don't think Rose can handle this information?" questioned Kate.

"Hardly," snorted General Bambera. "Rose Tyler is perfectly capable of handling anything thrown her way. But unless there is some immediate danger, this will stay completely classified."

Kate nodded, though she looked a bit reluctant. "As you wish, General."

* * *

"_I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself."_

_He looked into her brilliant glowing eyes and bent his face to hers, touching his lips to hers. The bitter taste of vortex was almost drowned out by the sweetness of her lips. He started to smile as did she. He waited for the burn to come into his hearts but it didn't. The vortex in her eyes swirled before dying down._

_The two of them stayed in their embrace and their second kiss had no trace of the bitter vortex._

John sat up in bed, blushing so deeply that he was afraid that his face might have actually gone up in flames. He glanced at his bedside and saw that it was 4 am. Sighing and running a hand through his hair, he got out of his bed and walked over to the desk in his rooms.

His quarters on the base were mostly bare but he didn't mind it so much. He took out a fresh notebook and opened the first page.

_Bad Wolf_, he wrote. Without even having to recall the details, he started to sketch her face. The gentle curve of her cheek, the golden hair around her, the swirl of gold in her eyes…and the lips he had kissed.

He took several breaths to compose himself before finishing off the sketch. He hadn't even known her a day and Captain Rose Tyler was already haunting his dreams. He hesitated for a moment before writing her name down under the sketch. With a nod, he appraised the page and added a small '_?'_ after her name.

He glanced back at his clock and saw that it was quarter to 5. Remembering that Rose had ordered Corporal Adam Mitchell to report in the training room at 5 and her own declaration that the training sessions were hard had John eager to witness them firsthand.

He quickly washed up and got dressed, before heading down to the training rooms on the other side of the base. It was already past five by the time he got there and Rose and Adam were already warmed up and exercising.

John frowned to himself, watching Rose perform perfect somersaults and backflips on the gym mat while Adam was on the elliptical. He had given her something for the pain after her arm had started throbbing the day before but he had warned her to stay off exercise so that there wouldn't be any further damage to the recovering tissue.

He was about to tell her to stop when he noticed that she was not using her left arm at all. All her somersaults and backflips were done with her right hand while left arm stayed firmly at her side.

_Close your mouth, idiot_ his brain reminded him and he snapped it shut. Rose noticed him and gave him a small smile and wave before turning her attention to Adam. A few minutes in, John realised that she was not joking when she said that she was not very nice during training.

Even John was starting to feel a bit sorry for Adam as Rose went on. The weird thing was that she was on an elliptical machine next to Adam's and as far as John could see, had it to the same settings as Adam's. She was going through her own training at the same pace as his and was managing to egg him along too.

John lost track of time as Rose and Adam finished the cardio workout and headed over to the weights. Double sets was a punishment indeed, thought John, as Rose counted Adam off.

Around 0700, the rest of the squad arrived and started their routines like a well-oiled machine with minimal direction from Rose. A few of them shot Adam sympathetic looks but it appeared that they were still a bit annoyed at his negligence of the previous day.

"STOP! Obstacle course."

John got up and followed them as they left the training room and went to the big obstacle course set out over the grounds. At Rose's signal, they set off and started the course. Climbing, falling, crawling, jumping and swinging were just a few of the things that were required of them and John was quite impressed by the stamina of everyone on the squad. He made a note to ask Kate if all the troops received the same training or if it was just Rose's squad.

"Hit the showers and report at 1000 hours," ordered Rose. As they dispersed, Rose walked over to John. "I think the bandages need to be changed. Is it okay if I shower first?"

John nodded. "Come and see me in the infirmary," he said. "How's the pain?"

"Manageable," she nodded. "The pills you gave me worked. I'll see you soon."

"Of course," he smiled and Rose turned to leave. "Rose?" he called and she turned back around. "I do agree that your punishment is sound."

With a laugh, she winked at him and left to take a shower. Having had a wonderful morning, John went up to his infirmary and started sorting out the personnel files from the day before. He found Rose's and read that her full name was Rose Marion Tyler and she was 26. Her emergency contact was her mother and she had no allergies. The second page in her file was a catalogue of injuries and there were the reasonable number of injuries that one would encounter by the time they made Captain. He read them for a few minutes, noticing with a wince that she had once been shot in her side and been hospitalised for weeks afterwards.

"Doctor?"

John looked up and felt his face flush. Doctor. That was the name of the man he had seen himself to be in his dreams. The Doctor and the Bad Wolf who were in love and who travelled through time and space together. He couldn't help but notice that Rose never called him John. Just Doctor, even after he had told her to call him John.

"Rose," he said, pushing his embarrassment aside and smiling at her. "Let's have a look at your arm, shall we?" He dropped the files aside and asked her to sit on one of the beds. He examined the wound and found that there was no additional damage. He cleaned it up and started bandaging it again.

"So, you're military, yeah?" she asked him.

He looked at her and gave a small smile. "Yes," he said. "I served in…Iraq. As a medic."

Rose nodded sympathetically. "My Dad was in the Army too. 'S why I joined the Army," she said.

"He died in service?" he asked.

"No, he was finally home. Drunk driver ran him over," she said.

"I'm sorry," he said. "How did you join UNIT?"

"Kate recruited me," she said as the Doctor finished bandaging her up. "Said I had potential."

"I do have to agree with her then," he said as she rolled the sleeve of her shirt down and put her jacket on.

Rose smiled. "Thanks for this. I have a mound of paperwork waiting on my desk so I'll take my leave," she said.

"Keep taking those pain tablets if you experience any discomfort," he advised. "Try to avoid the field until you're fully healed."

"I make no promises. Things around here tend to happen really unexpectedly," she joked as she winked at him.

He laughed at her and she left the infirmary but not before tossing him a cheeky grin. He shook his head and turned back to his work.

Somehow his mind kept wandering to a certain blonde captain the whole time.

* * *

A week passed with no alien invasions or any kind of disaster and people at UNIT were starting to wonder if they had pleased some cosmic deity that had granted them a peaceful few days. No alien invasions meant no extra paperwork and everyone was pretty much thrilled.

There were still days filled with training and studying but without the added strain of extra disasters, it was as normal as a week could be. Tannoy had formally been charged and was currently awaiting his transfer to a high security UNIT prison in Geneva.

Two days ago, Rose had been given the all-clear by Doctor Smith but the prisoner transfer detail had been decided before that. This meant that Rose would not be participating in the mission. The nominated team consisted of Adam, Maya and Lana, with Lana leading the charge since Jake and Ross were attending a seminar in Edinburgh. Rose wasn't particularly worried; Lana was a great soldier and she would keep Adam in line. Maya was quite responsible without having to be told.

She saw them off at the small UNIT airbase. Tannoy was silent but he had been the same way since his arrest. "Brigadier Lydell from Geneva will be meeting you on arrival," Rose told them as they boarded the aircraft. "Secure the prisoner and be back on the immediate available plane."

"Yes, ma'am," said Lana as the three of them saluted her.

"Good luck," said Rose and returned their salute. She wanted to wait in the hangar until the flight took off but Air Traffic Control informed her that it would be a while until they got proper clearance. Apparently, there had been some discrepancy in the paperwork.

Sighing at the bureaucracy and muttering unsavoury things about red tape, Rose left the airbase and returned to UNIT HQ. It felt unusually empty without her team around. Especially since it was a Friday and even Kate was home with her family.

Knowing that it was already around 4, she knew that she wouldn't be able to get any work done. She closed the file that she had been looking at without reading, and decided to go down to the pub for a drink. She was on her way out when she remembered that the Doctor might still be around and decided to ask him if he wanted to join her.

He was in his tiny office next to the infirmary, writing something in a black notebook. She knocked lightly on his ajar door and he looked up in surprise. "Rose! What're you doing here?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she answered, waving away his concern with a smile. "It's Friday evening and the HQ is nearly empty. Just wanted to see if you wanted to join me for a drink."

He looked at her with slightly wide eyes before beaming brightly. "Of course," he said. "Just give me a moment to find my coat."

"Sure," she said and sat down on his desk as he took his lab coat off. "So, what were you writing?" she asked, looking at the closed notebook.

He blushed lightly. "Just a few dreams I've been having," he said.

"Huh. What kind of dreams?" asked Rose, interested.

He saw the interest on her face and decided to answer. "I dream that I am…a traveller. A madman who goes to far-off places and explores," he confessed.

"Sounds fun," said Rose.

"You really think so?" he asked, as if not sure that she wasn't making fun of him.

"Of course," she said firmly. "Considering some of the alien technology that I have seen, we know that the universe is just teeming with life. To see it all, would be incredible."

He beamed at her with a soft look on his face. "Would you like to read it?" he asked, nodding towards the notebook.

"Sure," she said, looking surprised at his offer. He grinned at her and gave her the notebook. "You can read it at your leisure. Return it once you have finished."

Rose took the notebook, feeling slightly overwhelmed at the trust he was showing towards her. She looked at the blank cover of the notebook and then put it inside her bag. "I'll treasure it," she told him sincerely.

He smiled at her and offered his arm. "Now, I believe we were going to get a drink," he said.

* * *

'The Rose and the Crown' was by no means the only pub in the vicinity of UNIT HQ but it was Rose's favourite place, not for the name, but for the jazz singers who visited every Friday. Usually, they went to the King's Arms across the road for a pint but she went here when she wanted some time to listen to jazz music.

John was impressed at her choice and when she told him that it was a common haunt for jazz singers, he looked quite excited. The interior of the pub was dark, the only light being the muted spotlight on the band and the tiny candles on the individual tables.

Despite it being early in the evening, it was quite full already and the band was playing an unknown jazz melody. "Come on," said Rose, pulling him towards one of the vacant tables. It was a tall table with two barstools set near it. Without even thinking about it, John held her hand as she climbed onto her barstool and didn't let go even after he had seated himself. Rose didn't seem to mind, far from it really, as she gave him a small smile.

"Rose!"

The spell was broken and Rose's hand left his as she turned around to greet the waitress. "Hey, Clara. How're you?"

The petite brunette wearing a short, red dress grinned at her. "I'm great. Haven't seen you around here for a while," she said.

"Yeah, been busy, you know," said Rose. "Oh, this is Doctor John Smith. He's our new doctor. Doctor, meet Clara Oswald. She's a barmaid slash governess."

"Nice to meet you," he said with a polite smile. "Though I am a bit confused by the dual professions."

Clara grinned at him. "She means that I am a waitress during evenings and a nanny during the days," she explained. "And barmaid and governess sounds a bit Victorian," she added, shooting a playful glare at Rose.

Rose laughed. "Whatever you say, Clara," she said. "Anyway, it's his first time here."

"So, you'll both have the House special then?" asked Clara.

John looked questioningly at Rose who for some inexplicable reason, blushed a deep red. "Did I miss something?" he asked when Clara appeared to be trying very hard not to laugh.

"Our House speciality brew is called 'Essence of Rose'. The owners thought it would be good for business," Clara explained.

John laughed, both at the name and Rose's embarrassed glare at him. "I think we ought to get the house special," he said, nudging Rose's shoulder with his. "What do you say, Rose?"

"Yeah, you just laugh it up," she said, pouting at him. "I'll search the whole of Britain if I have to, just to find a brew that is just as humiliating for you."

Both the Doctor and Clara laughed and even Rose chuckled a few times. "I'll get you two of those to start with," said Clara as she grinned at them and flounced off.

"Thanks, Clara," Rose called at her back and Clara waved in acknowledgment as she navigated the tables and went to the bar. Rose looked back at him and saw that he was looking at her, his eyes bright with mischief. Before she could ask him why, the song came to an end and people around them started applauding politely.

"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome our singer for the evening. All the way from New Orleans, it's Michelle Scholls."

John and Rose applauded as the woman took to the stage. The chords of 'Lullaby Birdland' filtered through the air and as Michelle began to sing, it became obvious that it was the Sarah Vaughan version. John smiled as he saw Rose close her eyes and listen to the song with a small smile on her face. Without opening her eyes, she took his hand again and John let himself listen to the song as he linked their fingers together and kept them on his thigh.

With the lovely song in the air and Rose's hand in his, John didn't even notice when Clara flitted by their table and placed their drinks down. She did smile in delight at the obvious closeness of the couple but the two of them were too engrossed in the moment to realise it.

The song came to an end and Rose grinned as she opened her eyes and clapped enthusiastically. John was slightly disheartened at having her hand leave his but he did applaud Michelle as she took a bow. As the applause died down, the spotlight shifted to the piano player as Michelle took the mic and stood next to him.

"_Stars shining bright above you…"_

"Oh lovely," John murmured and this time, took Rose's hand in his before she could do so. She smiled lightly and rested her head on his shoulder while 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' (the Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald version) was sung by Michelle and her partner.

John rested his head on top of hers, hoping she wouldn't mind when he nuzzled her forehead. Instead of pulling away, Rose leaned into his touch and smiled when his lips brushed her hair. His thumb was stroking their linked hands as he moved his lips to her forehead and down the slope of her nose, before stopping near her lips and making their journey back to her hair the same way.

Rose felt her heart thudding in her chest and a blush creeping up her neck as if she had been intoxicated but neither of them had touched the drinks in front of them. She leaned closer to him and this time when his lips made the journey down, she let her lips touch his very lightly.

She felt rather than heard his surprised gasp and smiled as she pulled away. His hand left hers and Rose was afraid that he was about to move away when his fingers caressed her cheek and tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear.

Rose looked at him with hooded eyes and she knew he was going to move in to kiss her. She tilted her face and closed her eyes, anticipation building in the pit of her stomach. She felt his nose nudge hers and just as they were about to kiss, the spell was broken by loud applause.

They jumped away, startled to realise that they were in a room full of people and not a planet of their own. They met each others' eyes and laughed breathlessly, their foreheads touching lightly. John, who was still cupping her face with his hand, stroked the curve of her cheek with a smile.

Rose grinned at him and twined her hand with the one cupping her cheek. "Come on," she said, jumping to her feet and pulling him along.

John remembered to drop a tenner on the table before the two of them left the dark pub and emerged out on the street. For a moment, it seemed like the bright lights and noises of a busy London street had broken the moment they had found in that dark pub but then Rose grinned at him and started pulling him along, and it was as if they had never been interrupted.

Enthralled and intoxicated by her very presence, John followed her as if she was his North Star, not caring where she was leading him to. The two of them were so caught up in each other that neither of them noticed the bright green bolt of light across the sky before it disappeared.

* * *

"I hate this weather," grumbled Adam.

"That's the seventh time in twenty minutes that you have said that," said Lana in exasperation.

They had been stuck at the airbase until an hour ago when they had finally been cleared for takeoff. They had only been in the air for twenty minutes and Adam had been complaining the whole time.

Adam ignored her. "I thought the pilot said that we would be having a clear forecast," he said.

"Unexpected storms aren't unheard of," said Maya. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."

As if to contradict her words, the plane shuddered violently and suddenly dropped a few metres in the air. "What the hell is going on?" yelled Lana as she tried to get to the intercom to speak to the pilot.

"I don't know what's happening," came the pilot's voice over the PA system before she could reach it. "I can't control it anymore. Something's bringing it down!"

"Hold on!" yelled Lana as they frantically buckled themselves into their seats.

Even the calmly disinterested Tannoy was looking shaken up as he clutched the shackles binding him tightly. The plane continued to plummet to the ground and suddenly they were all engulfed by a bright green light.

"Mayday, mayday…" was all that was transmitted to the Air Traffic Control before everything went dark.

* * *

"Put some music on. I'll get the wine."

"Yes, ma'am," said John as he took his coat off and dropped it on the arm of Rose's sofa. He had been surprised to hear that she didn't live on base but in a small flat nearby. It was a cosy living space with walls lined with music, movies and a few books.

He searched through the stacks and found a Glenn Miller CD. Smiling, he inserted it into the CD player and was surprised when the first song to come on was 'In the Mood'.

Rose came back into her living room with a bottle of wine and two glasses which John immediately took off her and set aside. "What're you doing?" she asked with a laugh as he took her hands in his.

"Dancing," he said, nodding towards the CD player.

Rose laughed as she matched his steps and let him swing her around to the classic Glenn Miller song. The two of them giggled and laughed as he twirled her around and dipped her at all the right moments. Eventually, their giggles subsided as the song slowly morphed into 'Moonlight Serenade'.

John placed his hand at her back and drew her closer, his other hand holding hers tightly at their side. Rose's free hand was tangled into the long curls at the back of his neck as they moved slowly to the music.

A loud clap of thunder rang through the air but the two of them remained oblivious as they moved slowly until their movements became so slow that they weren't really moving at all anymore. Rose loosened her grip on his hand and brought it up to his face. The songs on the CD continued but the loud rain outside was starting to drown it out.

Neither of them paid it much mind as Rose brought his face down to hers and kissed him slowly. His hand at her back moved until his whole arm was wrapped around her waist as he returned her kiss with an unequalled passion. Noses brushed each other as their lips moved languorously together to the sound of the two hearts, the faint music and the rain outside.

Both of Rose's arms wrapped around his neck as John drew her closer until she was plastered completely against him. His long arms were wrapped so closely around her that he could touch his own ribs did he wish to do so.

With a gasp, Rose broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his as they both tried to catch their breaths. It took longer for him but Rose had already caught his bottom lip between her teeth and was nibbling lightly on it. He groaned and deepened the kiss, letting his tongue brush her mouth. Rose released his bottom lip with a gasp and his tongue slipped inside, brushing the roof of her mouth in a slow, enticing motion.

"Doctor," she murmured breathlessly against his lips. He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes and was surprised to find them so dark. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, Rose untangled her arms from around his neck and started to unbutton his white shirt.

He moved back to let her continue but still kept his eyes on hers as if she would disappear if he looked away. She got through all of them and pushed it off him. Before she could look at his body, he snaked an arm around her waist and drew her sharply against him.

A loud groan escaped her throat at the hard panes that she could feel against her body and the needy noise spurred him on as he captured her lips again. Rose let her hands wander over the tightly toned muscles of his shoulders, down to his pecs and abs. He felt like he was sculpted from marble. If it hadn't been for the heart that was beating in his chest and the warmth she was feeling from him, she would have thought it really was a marble statue under her hands.

"Rose?" he asked as he touched the first button on her white blouse.

She gave a nod and he slowly started unbuttoning them.

* * *

"Where are we?" asked Maya.

"Sssh," she heard a raspy voice answer. She tried to squint past the fog in her brain but it felt like everything was just slimy and green. "You shall be Daughter of Mine."

"Wha…?" she murmured but then a cold hand grasped her wrist. "Lana?"

"Sorry, love, I'm Mother now," she said and wrapped her hands around Maya's throat. The last thing that Corporal Maya Shah heard before her death was the laughter of Lana, Adam and Tannoy.

* * *

The phone rang shrilly and Rose broke off the kiss with a gasp. They were in her bedroom now, partially clothed and looking like they would very quickly prefer to be fully unclothed.

"You're not going to answer that, are you?" he murmured as he brushed his lips against her shoulder, his fingers toying with the strap of her bra.

"I have to," she insisted but made no move to get up. He seemed to have realised the same and was smiling as he kissed up her neck.

The phone stopped ringing and he grinned smugly. "See?"

Rose giggled and turned them around so that she was on top. The phone started ringing again, and this time she reached over to her side table and picked it up. "Tyler."

"Rose, it's Kate," came Kate's frantic voice. "Do you know where Doctor Smith is?"

"Yeah, he's here," she answered, looking at the man she was currently straddling. "Is everything okay?"

"The plane carrying Tannoy went down and only the pilot's body has been found so far," said Kate.

Rose moved off John and started looking for her shirt and trousers. "Could they have survived?" she asked sharply as she started putting her shirt on.

"The pilot managed to make a decent landing," said Kate. "But the pilot, Rose. He was murdered. Tannoy might have planned this all along."

"And now he's got three of my people," she said, her jaw clenching in anger. "Kate, the Doctor and I will be there in ten minutes."

"No, wait," said Kate, surprising Rose. She looked at John who was getting dressed as quickly as he could. "Rose, I've just got a message. There was some sort of an unidentified green flash in the vicinity of the crash. Rose, I need you to tell me your exact location, keep the Doctor there and guard him with your life."

"Kate, what is going on?" asked Rose.

"There isn't time to explain," said Kate, sounding urgent. "Your location."

"I'm at home," said Rose. "Kate…"

"Just do as I say, Captain. That's an order," said Kate.

Rose straightened up. "Yes ma'am."

The line cut off and Rose tossed her phone aside. "You have to stay in here," she said, trying not to sound as confused as she was.

"What?" he asked her. "Rose, what's going on?"

"I don't know but I have orders to protect you with my life," she said as she went over to the bookcase in her room and parted a few books to reveal a safe. She entered the combination and pulled out a gun from inside.

"Rose, talk to me. What is happening?" he asked, looking slightly hurt at her detached tone.

Rose bit her lip but stared back at him determinedly. "I'm under orders," she said. "Please."

His hurt faded with her pleading tone but he still looked worried as he got dressed and sat down on her bed. Rose gave him a small smile as she finished getting dressed and loaded the gun. She stood with her back to him, holding the gun towards the door.

Several minutes passed in silence wherein neither of them said anything. Finally, John got to his feet and ran a gentle hand over Rose's back. "Talk to me," he whispered as he brushed his lips against her cheek.

Rose closed her eyes and resisted the urge to turn her head and kiss him properly. "I have got a bad feeling about this, Doctor," she murmured as he continued to nuzzle her neck. "Like a storm coming towards us. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nor I you," he said. "Sometimes I feel like we have known each other for far longer than a week, Rose. Or at least like we were always supposed to be heading for this."

Rose turned to look at him and was surprised to see his eyes slightly moist, just like hers. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, when there came a loud knock at her door.

She jumped away from him and told him to stay in her room. She tiptoed over to the door of her flat and held her gun against it as she opened it just a fraction. When she saw that it was only Kate, she sighed and opened the door to let her in.

"I wasn't followed but I had to be careful," she said as she walked in. "Where is he?"

"In my room," Rose answered as she closed and locked the front door.

Kate raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as she opened the door and found him sitting inside. "It's them. They are here," she said.

He just looked at her in confusion. "Who is, Kate?" he asked.

"The Family. Just like you said. They have sent an ultimatum," she said.

He looked at Rose who seemed just as confused as him. "Kate, what are you talking about?" Rose asked.

"Him!" said Kate. "The Doctor. He said to open the watch if the Family got here. They are here and they are threatening to nuke the whole planet if we don't hand him over."

"Kate, I don't know what you are talking about," said John, getting to his feet. "What Family and what watch?"

"This one," said Kate, holding up the fob watch from her purse.

Rose narrowed her eyes at the curious engravings on it but John was looking at in bewilderment. "I don't recognise it," he said.

"No, not you. The Doctor," said Kate.

"Kate, that is the Doctor," said Rose. "Surgeon Lieutenant John Smith, remember?"

"No, not him. He wasn't real," said Kate as she rounded on Rose. "He is the Doctor, Rose. The one in the files."

That got Rose's attention. Her eyes snapped over to John who was staring at Kate with a hurt expression on his face. "The one in the files?" asked Rose. "But…that's not possible."

"It is and he is," said Kate. "He came to me more than a week ago and said he had to hide."

"No, no, wait," said Rose. "I've read the files and the Doctor is an alien with two hearts. Trust me, he has just the one," she said, pointing at John.

"That's because he changed his biology. Turned himself human so that the Family wouldn't come after him," said Kate.

"What are you two talking about?" he demanded loudly. "Who is this Doctor you keep speaking of?"

"You," answered Kate. "This watch. Just hold it."

Against his wishes but curious all the same, he took the watch from her. His eyes brightened for a moment before he threw the watch on Rose's bed. "No," he said. "I refuse to believe that."

"Oh god," Rose murmured. She had seen the bright gleam in his eyes for just that moment. Kate was telling the truth. This was the alien written about in all those files. She had read those like bedtime stories during her training days. A fantastic man with two hearts who could change his face, and who travelled through time and space in a blue Police box…

"But you must," Kate was insisting. "They have either possessed or killed our UNIT members and taken the access codes to some of our reserve missiles. You have to stop them."

"NO!" he shouted furiously. "I am NOT this alien that you speak of. I am Dr. John Smith. I was born on New Years' Eve in San Francisco. The Doctor is just a fantasy, a dream. He is NOT REAL, I AM!"

Kate stared at him before turning to Rose who was looking shell-shocked. John looked at Rose too and went over to her. "Rose, you believe me, don't you?" he asked, taking both her hands in his. "You know that I am real. Right, Rose?"

Rose clutched his hands, wishing with all her being that this was some sort of a joke but knew that it was not. "Kate, could we have a minute?"

Kate looked between them but nodded. "We have an hour before the deadline ends. Do hurry," she said and then went to Rose's living room, closing the bedroom door behind her.

He released her hands and sat down on the bed. "You believe her, don't you?" he said, hanging his head.

Rose kneeled in front of him and raised his face to hers. "I saw your eyes when you took that watch in your hand," she said, her eyes filling up with tears. "You recognised it too, didn't you?"

He closed his eyes in pain and drew her up so she could sit on his lap. "I was so sure that all of it was a dream," he said. "I never imagined that _this_ was really the dream. A steady life, a job that I like, a woman that I am completely in love with…" Rose gasped and he opened his eyes. "I do love you, Rose Tyler and I don't care if this is just a dream."

"Do I feel like a dream?" Rose asked, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face.

He wiped her tears with his thumb. "You feel like heaven, Rose," he said and kissed her slowly. Rose tangled her hand in his hair as she kissed him back more passionately than she had the whole evening. He moaned low in his throat as he turned them around and pushed her back on the bed gently. "If this is a dream, don't let me wake up," he murmured as he leaned over her and kissed her softly.

Rose broke the kiss and stared at him with eyes full of tears. "But you have to," she said.

"You don't even know what I will become when I open the watch," he said. "If I will even remember you."

Rose looked even more pained at that. "They will destroy the whole planet if we don't stop them," she said, reminding herself that the future of her planet depended on this. Her heart could shatter on its own.

"Then let's give them the watch," he said. "They'll have the Time Lord. We shall have each other."

Rose sat up and looked squarely at him. "How did you know that the Doctor is a Time Lord?" she asked sadly. "Those dreams you have been having. They are not dreams, are they? They are memories."

He opened his mouth and closed it again. The watch's presence was meddling with him. He was waking up from the dream. "Rose," he murmured. "Please."

She leaned up and kissed him soundly for a moment before getting up from the bed and walking towards the door of her bedroom. "Open the watch," she said, leaning against the door.

He looked at her with great sadness before picking up the watch from her bed. "I love you, Rose Tyler," he said. "Whatever I become, please remember that."

Rose didn't answer but he opened the watch and a bright light shone out of it, making Rose shield her eyes. When the light died down, she had to blink a few times to see properly again. He was standing exactly where he was but he seemed…different.

Taller, more regal as if he was holding himself in a whole another way. His eyes were cataloguing his surroundings with the interest of a child in a museum and when he looked at Rose he gave a smile that was more guarded than friendly.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor," he said. "May I know who you are?"

* * *

The week that followed was painful and agonising. The Doctor had jumped into action right away and stopped the Family of Blood by programming their ship to fly into an exploding star. He had returned to Earth and thanked Kate for her help.

Then he got into his blue box and was gone. Rose had avoided him as best as she could. When she was absolutely required to be in his presence, she kept her attitude professional and even after he insisted on being called the Doctor, she called him _sir._

She couldn't call him 'Doctor', it would remind her too much of _him._ This alien, whoever he was, he didn't remember a thing from when he had changed his biology to the moment he had opened the watch in Rose's flat. To him, everything was a blank slate but for Rose, it had been so much more.

She had met an amazing, wonderful, kind man who had loved her so much. Seeing his face on this new alien felt wrong and like she was tainting his memory. So she steered clear of him and when he was gone, she was finally relieved that she would be able to grieve her Doctor in peace.

Grief wasn't just about that either. Funerals were held for Corporals Adam Mitchell, Lana Brennan and Maya Shah. Rose had lost more than half of her team and there were things to do to fill that gap. She had work dealing with the aftermath of the Family's threats and UNIT was in major security overhaul mode.

Rose was often working late and rarely returned to her flat for a proper rest. After she had worked without break for thirty nine hours, Kate ordered her home. Rose stumbled into her flat and was about to collapse when she tripped over her bag. She hadn't touched it since _that_ day, being too busy with everything.

With a start she realised that he had given her his journal. She picked her bag up hastily and pulled out the notebook. Temptation rose in her heart to open and read it but some part of her sleep-deprived mind reminded her that this was the alien Doctor's memories he had written down. She was contemplating whether it would be a good idea to open it when she heard a peculiar noise. It was a low wheezing sound that was slowly getting louder and louder.

A breeze started up in her flat disturbing papers around the living room. Rose stood up, recognising the sound. Surely enough, a blue Police Box materialised into the tiny space in her living room.

The doors opened and he stuck his head out. "Ah," he said, when he saw a shocked Rose standing there. "I am assuming this isn't the Third Moon of Poosh."

"No, sir," she said.

He frowned at the term. "Captain Tyler, have I offended you in some way?" he asked, stepping out into her living room and closing the doors behind him.

"No, sir," she said again, not offering anything else.

He stared at her in slight exasperation. "Could you then tell me why I was in your flat when I regained my mind?" he asked.

"You're saying that you weren't in your right mind as a human then?" she asked, gritting her teeth. "Sir," she added, almost as if daring him to admit to it.

"If there was something that I did to hurt you in any way while I was human, I apologise," he said.

She shook her head. "You didn't do anything to hurt me," she said. "Far from it, sir."

"Sir again," he said, exasperated. He walked up to her but she stood her ground. "I refuse to leave until I understand what it is I did."

"I don't think you want to know, sir," she said.

He made a sound that might have been a growl. "I am sorry. For whatever I did or have done," he said.

"I understand," said Rose, giving him a nod. "If that is all, sir? I haven't had any sleep in nearly forty hours."

He looked surprised at her dismissal but gave a small nod. "I shall leave then," he said.

Rose nodded, determined not to break now. She gave him the unopened notebook. "It is something your human self kept," she said, her voice wobbling only slightly. "You should have it."

He took it from her, his eyes wide with surprise. Rose nodded and turned away from him to go back to her room. The Doctor opened the notebook and saw the two words written right at the top: Bad Wolf.

And just like that, a door slammed open in his mind. Memories of waking up as Doctor John Smith, an interesting patient on his first day, following her around for observation…slowly liking her, listening to jazz, dancing with her, kissing her…telling her…

"Rose," he said, the notebook falling from his hands.

Rose paused with her hand on the handle of her bedroom door. "Yes?" she asked, without turning around.

He walked up to her and touched her shoulder gently, feeling her tense under his touch. "Rose," he said again. "I remember."

She finally looked at him and it pained him to see the tears in her eyes. "What?"

"I remember," he repeated, feeling a smile waiting to burst forth on his face.

Rose, on the other hand, gave a sad nod. "It's okay," she said. "You…he…told me that things might not be the same."

"They might," he countered.

Rose smiled sadly and shook her head. "I don't think they will," she said.

"Come with me," he said, grasping her hand. "Anywhere, anywhen you want."

Rose looked at his pleading eyes and towards the box in her living room, before looking back at him. "I can't," she said. "I have my responsibilities, just as you have yours. And the two shall never meet," she added in a slightly dramatic voice.

He smiled softly. "Come with me, Rose," he said again. "Please."

Rose smiled back and touched her lips to his cheek in a long kiss. "Goodbye, Doctor," she said and opened the door of her bedroom. She didn't hear the machine leave but she was too tired by then to realise anything.

However, when she awoke the next morning, the box was still in her living room. She scrambled out of bed and went outside to find the Doctor wearing the pink monstrosity of an apron that her mum had given her, and cooking breakfast.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, feeling a small smile on her face despite everything.

He grinned at her. "Good morning, Rose," he said. "I am making breakfast."

"I meant here," she said. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer immediately, choosing to spoon eggs and mushroom onto a plate for her and buttering some toast before handing the plate to her. "I was going to obey your wishes and leave as you asked," he said, picking a toast apart. "But then I read the rest of that notebook."

Rose ate some of the eggs and tried not to moan at the wonderful taste. "And?" she prompted.

"And I wanted to suggest something," he said. "You're right, we both have responsibilities. Yours to your planet and mine to the universe. But…I also have a time machine. You said you wanted to see the life in the universe. Then let's do that. I will take you to see that life and bring you back to your own life minutes after we left."

He looked so eager that Rose didn't have it in her heart to refuse outright. Besides, what he was suggesting was reasonable. She liked working for UNIT and she would love to lead it one day but seeing the universe also mattered to her.

Not to mention that he would be there too. He wasn't the man who had told her he loved her, but he wasn't the alien stranger either. He was an amalgamation of both and someone Rose could be fond of and trust easily.

He looked expectantly at her and a slow smile spread over Rose's face until it was her familiar tongue-touched grin. "One condition," she said.

"Anything," he said, grinning brightly.

Rose grinned and indicated the food. "You make me breakfast like this every morning."

The Doctor beamed happily at her. "Rose Tyler, I do believe we have a deal."

* * *

**A/N Phew. That was long. ****I had fun writing this one but I am very sleep deprived right now, so forgive any editing mistakes that I might have made. **

**So, what did you think? Did you like it? I just kept writing and writing this one and it turned into a huge fic which I was not expecting. **

**I always had this idea of a BadWolf!Rose leading UNIT or Torchwood on Earth while the Doctor travelled in the TARDIS and came to see her whenever he could. And when some poor uninformed alien would attack Earth, the Oncoming Storm would descend and the UNIT grunts would hold a bet to see how quickly the boss's husband will deal with the thing.**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought along with your suggestions. I'll have a new one as soon as I have inspiration. See you then!**

**~ Phoenix**


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